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https://hackaday.com/2011/05/09/jeri-ellsworths-shooting-gallery/
|
Jeri Ellsworth’s Shooting Gallery
|
Caleb Kraft
|
[
"Misc Hacks"
] |
[
"game",
"jeri ellsworth",
"pinball"
] |
Back with another interesting vidoe, [Jeri Ellsworth] once again brings us an
amusing and educational hack
. This time she’s made a “shooting gallery” in the style of the old arcade games that actually used projectiles. In her version however, she’s using LEDs in the targets which are detected by the gun. In an effort to keep the feel the same, she rigged up a pinball bell to ding at the appropriate times and it is quite effective.
As usual, she does a great job of breaking everything down and explaining how it all works. She shows us around her prototype so you can see how it is constructed, if you can make it through the solder gun shootout in the beginning. If she were to continue with this project beyond the functional prototype stage, we’d love to see small video clips being displayed for the targets
pepper’s ghost
style. Maybe we’re just having fond memories of
Time Traveler
.
| 8
| 8
|
[
{
"comment_id": "391948",
"author": "Kenneth Finnegan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T18:40:47",
"content": "The entire row of booths at ESC must have hated Element14 for having this. There was always a huge crowd of people playing it and blocking the entire isle. It was a lot of fun, but it suffered quite a bit from interference, so if anyone plans to build something like this, consider using a more specific color like IR than red.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391973",
"author": "Alex Parting",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T20:09:24",
"content": "sexy as usual. whatever she says I’m sure it’s amazing",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391979",
"author": "Sariel",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T20:42:52",
"content": "Jeri always brings something interesting and entertaining to the table. hope to see more from her! btw Jeri FTW….not that stinky old Ben Heck.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391993",
"author": "Agent420",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T21:18:18",
"content": "I love the spinning Plink-O-Meter display !Jeri rocks (and she ain’t too hard on the eyes either)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392003",
"author": "brad",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T21:36:56",
"content": "can has vidoe!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392133",
"author": "Thefactsmanitstheface",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T03:03:25",
"content": "Hands above desks lads. Seriously.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392222",
"author": "pod",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T07:21:20",
"content": "video on element14 main page",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392502",
"author": "wmat",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T20:44:32",
"content": "I must have been lucky at ESC, because I got to stand and play this game in the Element14 without any crowd whatsoever.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,195.943239
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/09/a-friendly-spiderbot-named-chopsticks/
|
A Friendly Spiderbot Named Chopsticks
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Robots Hacks"
] |
[
"arduino",
"ir",
"octopod",
"polymorph",
"robot",
"servos"
] |
After seeing his fair share of hexapod-style bots on the Internet,
[Russell] decided he wanted to build one of his own
. One of the downsides to building these robots is the cost. He often saw them constructed from laser cut parts and very expensive servos. Rather than blow hundreds upon hundreds of dollars on the bot, [Russell] decided he could a lightweight bot on the cheap using chopsticks and polymorph modeling plastic.
His octopod robot is aptly called “Chopsticks” and utilizes 28 different servos to control its motions. 24 servos are used for its legs, 3 more are reserved for head movements, while a single additional servo manipulates the robot’s mandibles. The robot’s legs and main structure are composed of chopsticks, while the polymorph is used for feet, servo mounts, and pretty much anywhere else chopsticks just wouldn’t do.
[Russell] even added a set of eye stalks to complete the spider theme, arming them with IR compound eyes for object tracking. The robot is quite interactive as you can see in the video below.
Keep reading to see a video of Chopsticks,
or swing by his Let’s Make Robots site if you get a chance
– he has a pretty detailed construction journal as well as plenty of videos showing his spider bot in action.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hG6Amnb9Mo&w=470]
| 12
| 10
|
[
{
"comment_id": "391938",
"author": "chango",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T18:16:31",
"content": "If I built something that looked like that, I’d have to unhook the battery and pull the micro from the socket before I could even think about going to sleep.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391943",
"author": "Hackius",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T18:28:51",
"content": "A cool design idea but 24 servos must cost somewhere in the vicinity of 500 or 700 dollars at least plus electronics it’d be easily 1000 in costs. At that price why shy away from precission cut parts that would only cost an extra 100$?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "951359",
"author": "oddbot",
"timestamp": "2013-01-31T04:19:16",
"content": "actually not, the whole thing cost only 300$.. each servo is around 10$, so its much cheaper than you think.",
"parent_id": "391943",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "391946",
"author": "FredP",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T18:37:43",
"content": "Nice to see a robot that isn’t just a remote control car with a saw or something else stuck on it. If you’re controlling something with 4 wheels and it can’t do anything autonomously, then it’s not a robot, it’s a radio control car. This was pretty cool.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391949",
"author": "Gordon",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T18:40:54",
"content": "I think this is a great idea.Ive been playing with folded card and plastic card to make legs and joints but nothing would work properly for me. The polymorph and sticks are a great idea to make simple lightweight legs.Id like to try this with cheap micro servos.That would keep the prices down.Gordon",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "2431917",
"author": "Seth",
"timestamp": "2015-02-11T20:10:23",
"content": "Your cruhsing his dream.????????????",
"parent_id": "391949",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "391955",
"author": "EFH",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T18:44:25",
"content": "@Hackius: You can get Mystery brand micro servos from DealExtreme for $3 each; they’re actually pretty decent. 24 of those and an Arduino Mega, and you’re still under $200.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391988",
"author": "Amos",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T21:04:47",
"content": "If you want extremely light and strong legs or other structures (which also happen to be free) find a sporting goods store that carries (or, ideally, specializes in) archery supplies. Ask them for some broken graphite arrow shafts or off-cuts. If they refuse, just wait for closing time and dive their dumpster ;)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392011",
"author": "Hackius",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T21:59:10",
"content": "EFH: If you say they’re good I’ll actually buy a few to try them out.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392018",
"author": "JC",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T22:09:14",
"content": "That is awesome, but as some other people commented, it’s hard to believe it was cheap to build.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392229",
"author": "Otacon2k",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T07:48:28",
"content": "Spider theme? Eye stalks? Ever seen a spider up close?… Eye stalks would fit into a snail theme. Which, by the way, would also explain the speed of this thing ;)I wonder why nobody puts rubber feet under the legs of their (Hexa-/) Octopods? Would it jam up the servos? Those things always look like my cat doing one of those turning slides on smooth floors while chasing a rubberband.Besides that, great work.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392362",
"author": "andrew",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T16:31:03",
"content": "I’ll give him props. As I’m beginning to understand, it’s hard to do all of the following while mounting servos and easy to understand why people fall towards cnc or laser cut parts:1. Strong2. Cheap3. Light (as in weight)4. Small (doesn’t restrict servo range)5. Removable (no glue holding the servos on)6. Decent looking",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,196.520441
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/09/roll-your-own-capacitors/
|
Roll Your Own Capacitors
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Misc Hacks"
] |
[
"capacitors",
"diy",
"experiment"
] |
Rolling your own electronics components can be fun, but can also help in explaining how certain items actually work. [Addie] from The Toymakers recently
set off to figure out how capacitors work, by making her own
.
She understood the general concept behind capacitors and how they are constructed, but she wanted to see how it was done first-hand. To construct her capacitor, she selected aluminum foil as her conductor, and saran wrap as the dielectric. She admits that her first attempt was a failure, but undaunted, she carried on. Friends suggested that her conductors were a bit too small to hold any reasonable charge, so she tried larger sheets of aluminum foil to no avail.
She kept at it and found success after using several feet of foil to construct her capacitor. She charged it with a handful of AA batteries and was excited to see her multimeter come to life when she touched the leads to the cap.
While you likely wouldn’t use a hand-made capacitor in your next build, it is a fun experiment to do with children interested in learning about electronics.
[via
Adafruit blog
]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlqmUVw5iZE&w=470]
| 30
| 24
|
[
{
"comment_id": "391899",
"author": "Dino",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T16:20:07",
"content": "Cool video! Now I want to try rolling my own… Guess I’ll have add “capacitor supplies” to my grocery store shopping list! :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391900",
"author": "DerAxeman",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T16:20:19",
"content": "We did this as a project in my highschool electronics program. We were also scored on the total capacitance we achieved. This put an element of competition into the project and some of us did research to try and give us an edge.Good times",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "521874",
"author": "cakmano",
"timestamp": "2011-11-29T07:59:26",
"content": "Hai DerAxeman,I see ur comment about DIY capacitor here. I said that you sort like winning a competition for making DIY capacitor. At the same time, I am also working on the same thing. Mind to share or suggest some ideas? I know how the basic works, but not sure how to maximize the capacitance in this case.Thanks",
"parent_id": "391900",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "391901",
"author": "dsssk",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T16:20:29",
"content": "Hello, great video. I have often contemplated this myself in my DIY travels and was curious to know if the capacitance was either measured and or calculated on this project?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391907",
"author": "J Harton",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T16:27:45",
"content": "I have no idea what the relationship is, but I suspect that using an even longer strip might be still more effective. Also a different dielectric is probably even better. Granted, this is easier and safer in some ways, but a saltwater leyden jar (http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-A-Water-Leyden-Jar/) probably makes a better capacitor.Anyone know why the author of that instructable calls it a high-voltage capacitor, I assume that to be a context thing and not a general rule.This is an interesting air capacitor for ham radio stuff->http://www.eham.net/articles/5217",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "3479328",
"author": "amateurqrpradio",
"timestamp": "2017-03-29T20:46:49",
"content": "The thicker the diletric between the plates, the greater the voltage it will withstand before it arcs over or goes bang.A high voltage capacitor just means more distance between the plates. Saran wrap will have a low voltage breakdown while teflon oven sheeting will have a much higher breakdown voltage rating because it takes a much higher voltage to spark through the diletric material. The material used (vacume, air, paper, PVC, teflon, window glass) all have different breakdown voltages, but also effect the capacitance value.When used in a L/C circuit (Inductive/capacitive) the voltages present at the capacitor can be around 10,000 volts so a high voltage rated capacitor will be desirable.",
"parent_id": "391907",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "391915",
"author": "uC",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T17:00:06",
"content": "I like the Leyden Jar approach:http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2008/02/homemade-capacitor-leyden.htmlI love these simple hacks.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391916",
"author": "CrashSerious",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T17:06:52",
"content": "Probably could have gotten a little more from it had she put the saran wrap on top as well at the end, since the foil touching itself would lower the surface area of one panel.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391917",
"author": "vonskippy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T17:10:22",
"content": "After the zombie apocalypse, skills like this will be essential.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391919",
"author": "Duplive",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T17:19:25",
"content": "@vonskippy I’m glad that I’m not the only person worried about the zombie apocalypse.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "391927",
"author": "The Timmy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T17:41:29",
"content": "Yes, but after the bomb drops, I will be more concerned about replacing all the burned transistors and constructing IC replacements. Now all we need is a diy transistor and diy diode. Diy resistors are easy.",
"parent_id": "391919",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "391925",
"author": "Alex Parting",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T17:38:42",
"content": "We did this at school when we were 12.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391926",
"author": "JJ",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T17:39:19",
"content": "Building your own caps is popular in budget spark gap tesla coil builds, as manufactured caps tend to be very expensive.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391939",
"author": "cgimark",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T18:18:38",
"content": "When building caps it isn’t so much the thickness of the material but the number of layers. You can construct caps really easily with copper clad pc boards. Stack single sided boards on top of each other.Back before the laser diode was possible we used glass to make capacitors for the laser power supplies. Stack sheets of glass on sheets of 1/8″ aluminum for 25 pairs in each stack. Sheets were 2 feet square and wired in parallel.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391941",
"author": "dustandechoes91",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T18:25:40",
"content": "We did this in the first level ee lab. Had to make one, calculate the capacitance, and compare results. Also made paper resistors and had to find the max voltage they could handle before catching on fire. Fun lab.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391942",
"author": "Taylor Alexander",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T18:27:56",
"content": "I remember ten years ago when I was building a Tesla Coil, which needs a capacitor than can take 10k or 20k volts, which isnt all that common. Most of the tutorials said to get a big vat of oil and fill it with alternating sheets of glass and aluminum. The whole setup would have weighed 50 pounds or more and been almost impossible to transport.Instead, I went on ebay and bought some 30kv capacitors from a laser power supply from Los Alimos National Labs for $75. They work great.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391956",
"author": "Taylor Alexander",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T18:44:59",
"content": "Bah! Alamos.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391958",
"author": "superkuh",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T19:05:58",
"content": "This is a fine explaination of the basics. 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_nF“The capacitors are based on PP copolymer foils used in laser copiers and printers. Each sheet should stand 14 kV and depending on how many sheets you use you can get different capacitance (two sheets 9 nF – six sheets 3.5 nF). The foil is thick kitchen aluminium-foil (for grilling).”I’ve made a couple of these myself and they stand up to abuse well. The kind of experiments you don’t want to risk your ceramic doornob caps on.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391989",
"author": "thecoshman",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T21:07:05",
"content": "ok… now I am sure many a person has mentioned how this could go mental… but this site gives a mathematical way of working out how many Farads a capacitor has/is.so… a a roll on aluminium foil (two to be precise) is easy enough to buy, say 300mm wide and 10m long (my maths makes that 3m squared… waked paper, or baking paper has a ‘permittivity’ of 2.5 (apparently) and is less then 0.01 mm thick (I would say) or 0.0001m which means two rolls of foil could give make a capacitor that is 75,000 Columns… which is an insane amount of charge is it not?Am I missing something here or is it really that easy to ‘roll’ something that could easily be used to yield insane amounts of POWER!http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_1/chpt_13/3.html",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1070808",
"author": "chris bush",
"timestamp": "2013-10-07T22:20:58",
"content": "Your math is incorrect, you did use the numbers given on the website but that site failed to provide you with the correct absolute permittivity. It does say you have to use the absolute permittivity of a dielectric next to the equation but it fails to provide the absolute permittivity.The absolute permittivity is the relative permittivity multiplied by the absolute permittivity of a vacuum, 8.85418781… x 10^-12 F/m.",
"parent_id": "391989",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "391996",
"author": "PocketBrain",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T21:23:51",
"content": "Have done this experimentally with paper and foil. I wonder if the plastic wrap isn’t easy to pierce. I think paper would stand up to tighter rolling. The smaller the gap between your capacitive plates, the higher the capacitance. Fun experiment. Hook it into a 555 timer or op-amp relaxation oscillator and try for the lowest frequency! Try oiling your paper to see if that changes your capacitance value.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392064",
"author": "Bootstrap_code",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T23:39:37",
"content": "I did this many years ago when I was building a tesla coil. It was of the plate variety using aluminum plates, polyethylene sheets and oil. Although air bubbles between plates equals internal arcing and one big oil covered mess. Have also seen beer bottles and salt water used. Ahh memories of things that could have killed me..",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392167",
"author": "aids",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T04:44:58",
"content": "I tried to figure out how joints worked so i rolled my own",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "963409",
"author": "gbsd",
"timestamp": "2013-02-21T10:25:05",
"content": "be sure to take a towel",
"parent_id": "392167",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "392320",
"author": "Jon",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T13:28:38",
"content": "I built a ‘crystal’ radio with a variable capacitor using foil on paper towel tubes. The plans are here, under ‘A Card-Board Tube Radio’:http://www.crystalradio.net/crystalplans/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1004922",
"author": "Sarah",
"timestamp": "2013-05-17T18:43:25",
"content": "Does it need to be rolled up? Why?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1004953",
"author": "B Botany",
"timestamp": "2013-05-17T20:21:50",
"content": "Better shielding. Unrolling them greatly improves their performance as sensors, and will reduce the predictability of the circuit it is in. And makes them take up a ~lot~ more room.",
"parent_id": "1004922",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "2750745",
"author": "no name",
"timestamp": "2015-10-12T14:52:57",
"content": "I once built a crystal radio with all home made parts. You can do it too. That was the way crystal radios where built in the 1920’s. To bad that is a lost art.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "2926691",
"author": "Saja",
"timestamp": "2016-02-20T09:37:23",
"content": "I’m experimenting with different types of capacitors and if they can replace batteries voltage-wise, economics-wise, and environment-wise for my science fair and I made this. It didn’t generate that much but it was fun to make XD",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "3433099",
"author": "Jim Kadel",
"timestamp": "2017-03-06T05:13:22",
"content": "Your multi-meter probably didn’t include a “capacitance” range. A slightly more expensive multi-meter that would have this capability would be informative. It would have allowed a measurement of the capacitance in pico-farads. This way one can get an actual measurement of what you are attempting to make. Comparison of different construction methods, including the size of plates, etc is easily compared this way.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,196.353356
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/08/synkie-the-modular-synth-for-video/
|
Synkie: The Modular Synth For Video
|
Brian Benchoff
|
[
"Musical Hacks",
"Video Hacks"
] |
[
"synth",
"video"
] |
The folks at [anyma] have been working on an analog video processor called
Synkie
for a while now, and we’re amazed a project this awesome has passed us by for so long.
Like a Moog or Doepfer synth, the Synkie was developed with modularity in mind. So far, [anyma] has built modules to split and combine the sync and video signals, and modules to invert, add, subtract, mix, filter and amplify those signals. The end result of all this video processing produces an output that can look like a glitched Atari, art installation, and scrambled cable station all at the same time.
The Synkie’s output reminds us of the
original Doctor Who title sequence
, and actually this idea isn’t far off the mark – both use video feedback that will produce anything from a phantasmagoric ‘flying through space’ aesthetic to a fractal
Droste effect
visualization. We’re impressed with Synkie’s capabilities, but we’re astounded by the [anyma] crew’s ability to control a video signal in real time to get what they want.
Check out a video of the Synkie after the jump. There’s also more footage of the Synkie in action on the
Synkie Vimeo channel
.
[vimeo
http://vimeo.com/23081064%5D
| 13
| 13
|
[
{
"comment_id": "391620",
"author": "smx",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T18:55:51",
"content": "Nice one!There’s alsohttp://www.milkymist.orgyou might like to post. It’s digital however :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391639",
"author": "Johannes",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T20:08:28",
"content": "Wow this is really incredible! I didn’t even know it was possible to create such effects using analog technology!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391661",
"author": "ferdie",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T21:46:48",
"content": "wow thats look cool.but it looks of it made in russian in the 80 but it is not.never no that you can do this whit homemade stuff",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391672",
"author": "dax",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T22:30:38",
"content": "So cool! Check out the music artist Truckasaurus on youtube, they mix their music with a modded gameboy and one guy mixes VHS tapes to correspond with the show. Terrific live, and they have their music videos on youtube!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391700",
"author": "zool",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T01:32:19",
"content": "pretty cool, would have rather seen an explanation of all the modules though",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391709",
"author": "bob",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T02:16:21",
"content": "@JohannesAs my circuits prof used to say, digital circuits are made of analog parts. Analog can do anything digital can, plus a bit.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391778",
"author": "Johannes",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T07:50:11",
"content": "@bobyeahh that does make sense, I never thought about it that way.. Its just so easy to forget about analog electronics when we get used to microcontrollers and what not! :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391798",
"author": "RandomReader",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T09:46:02",
"content": "The lost art of analog, 1 day computers will return to it due to its near infinate bits per cyclebrill work!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391800",
"author": "Grovenstien",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T10:02:57",
"content": "COME TO DADDY! :D",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391897",
"author": "Agent420",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T16:14:04",
"content": "Reminds me of Scanimate, one of the 1st gen color video editors…http://scanimate.zfx.com/scan2.htmlAnyone from back in the day will recognize those graphics from early Electric Company, PBS, NOVA etc…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392654",
"author": "HarveyMoon",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T02:45:01",
"content": "I guess no one has heard of the Dan Sandin Image Processor.This was back in the 1970’s maybe the first video synth ever made.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qh6jRzjmcY",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392819",
"author": "Sigg3",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T13:44:53",
"content": "Great music!http://dig.ccmixter.org/dig?user=gmz",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395115",
"author": "unicorngenocide",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T07:28:00",
"content": "http://www.lzxindustries.net/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,196.289084
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/06/improve-charlieplexing-performance-with-interrupts/
|
Improve Charlieplexing Performance With Interrupts
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"LED Hacks",
"Microcontrollers"
] |
[
"charlieplexing",
"led",
"micro controller",
"pic"
] |
[Dmitry] was shopping for LEDs and accidentally pulled the trigger on the wrong type. Since he didn’t want to be wasteful, he figured he should at least take the time to build something with them.
A LED matrix display was the obvious project choice, but he only had a PIC16F688 at his disposal. Since the micro controller only has 11 output pins, charlieplexing was the only way he would be able to light the entire matrix.
While testing his LED array, he found charlieplexing to be a bit disappointing
. The fact that the LEDs can get relatively dim, depending on the number of units lit at any particular time struck him as annoying.
In order to improve the performance of his charlieplexed array, he first decided to scan through all of the LEDs rather than just those that needed to be lit. This ensured that all of his LEDs had the same 1/110 duty cycle and were always as bright as possible. He also chose to use interrupts when lighting the LEDs. This meant that his code does not need to take into consideration any specific timing requirements to maintain persistence of vision. He also double-buffers the display to help reduce flicker.
He says that he ran into certain constraints with the PIC chip he chose, so he used a handful of lookup tables to ensure smooth operation of his display. He was quite satisfied with the results, and we think that the interrupt-driven display looks like it works just fine from where we’re standing as well.
Be sure to stick around for a quick video explaining and demonstrating his single-chip LED matrix.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRYOYJx8LsI&w=470]
| 20
| 18
|
[
{
"comment_id": "390953",
"author": "Aaron",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T16:04:11",
"content": "Note to haters: This is the same guy who rewrote the Palm TX ROM to take out most of the suck and replace it with nifty. What’ve you done that’s half that awesome?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390966",
"author": "Anonymous",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T16:37:47",
"content": "Aaron, who are you talking to? No one, but you, has said a word about it yet.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390967",
"author": "Ian",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T16:45:12",
"content": "I think he was leaving a pre-hater note.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390968",
"author": "M4CGYV3R",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T16:48:09",
"content": "Charlieplexing? Who the heck was Charlie?Nifty concept. I should try to go all-out with the 24 port pins from my P1825K20.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390970",
"author": "goldscott",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T16:50:40",
"content": "This is awesome. Charlieplexing is great.[Dmitry] also did a great writeup about the two microcontrollers he used.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390980",
"author": "Aaron",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T17:32:16",
"content": "@Ian: I just wanted to toss it out there in case anybody felt like going “oh lol charlieplexing 101 what a looser”.@M4 et cetera: Wikipedia sez it was somebody called Charlie Allen who worked for Maxim. With 24 pins you could charlieplex up to 552 LEDs, which would be awesome.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390981",
"author": "fartface",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T17:39:10",
"content": "“Note to haters: This is the same guy who rewrote the Palm TX ROM to take out most of the suck and replace it with nifty. What’ve you done that’s half that awesome?”Put a Corvette LS3 engine in a Mazda Miata, I utterly destroy the wannabee Honda and Mitsubishi in town as well as Every Dodge challenger, charger, mustang that eve dares to rev at me.What have you done?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390982",
"author": "Anonymous",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T17:41:35",
"content": "Pre-hated haters.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390987",
"author": "Aaron",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T17:53:20",
"content": "fartface: Huh?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391002",
"author": "Dmitry Grinberg",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T18:32:33",
"content": "@fartface – that is impressive. Did you ever publish a how-to? I have a spare LS3 and would consider doing that too.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391032",
"author": "svofski",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T19:55:03",
"content": "haters gonna hate",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391033",
"author": "gdogg",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T20:07:59",
"content": "That’s the proper way to do it :) bookmarked",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391034",
"author": "Alex",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T20:09:47",
"content": "Awesome, fartface. Did you use Flyin’ Miata parts to do your conversion? FM weren’t the first ones to put an LS engine in a Miata, but with their help it’s a hell of a lot easier.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391045",
"author": "D_",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T21:08:25",
"content": "This project book marked, a Dimtry’s page lead to book mark two more outside of his.Seeing how the comments got off track about haters. True, haters are going to hate, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be called out on it. But if you decide to do so please don’t use too broad brush to determine hate.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391083",
"author": "Whatnot",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T22:38:46",
"content": "It’s funny how you end up with the display technology that was used in the old 8bit systems like the appleII and c64 and such, a display driver scans a set of positions and you ‘poke’ values in the positions.Full circle",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391417",
"author": "paul",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T22:52:29",
"content": "Why would the LEDs get dim? Are they being driven right off the PIC? Why not have the LEDs connect to transistors and drive the transistors with the PIC?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "584713",
"author": "david",
"timestamp": "2012-02-18T23:52:07",
"content": "i am running into this very problem driving 126 LEDs,; just not as bright as I would have hoped. I don’t have a lot of experience with the electronics… how would i use a transistor in the circuit? would i supply power to the LED’s seperately from my microcontroller? any insight would be greatly appreciated.",
"parent_id": "391417",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "391443",
"author": "Whatnot",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T23:51:01",
"content": "Look up charlieplexing on wikipedia paul, and specifically the ‘problems’ section.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391699",
"author": "ColinB",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T01:16:53",
"content": "Driving 552 LEDs with charlieplexing would result in a 1/552 duty cycle… that would be VERY dim unless you seriously overdrive the LEDs. For instance, if an LED has a nominal drive current of 20 mA to produce its standard brightness, you’d theoretically need to drive it with 552 * (20 mA) = 11 A to get the same apparent visual brightness… I doubt any LED would survive that.I say with LEDs it’s “go bright or go home!”",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1054155",
"author": "lugnut",
"timestamp": "2013-09-08T12:28:16",
"content": "there is no need to drive leds one at a time when charlieplexingboost the each columns with an emitter follower, and do it like a regular matrix.",
"parent_id": "391699",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
}
] | 1,760,377,196.003691
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/06/usb-minecraft-portal/
|
USB Minecraft Portal
|
Kevin Dady
|
[
"Video Hacks"
] |
[
"lcd",
"micecraft"
] |
[Sprite_tm] had heard some time ago that middle of the road Nokia phones had some really interesting LCDs, they are 2.4 inch TFT’s with 320×240 resolution. He immediately got 3 beccause they are pretty low cost as well, and started working with them. Apparently these LCDs are self contained, meaning they have all the driver chips and memory on board, you just need to know the pins and commands. This too is fairly easy as they are somewhat standard setups and datasheets for similar models work in a pinch.
Once the things were working, what do you do with them? [Sprite_tm] decided to make a
desktop minecraft portal
. Since the animation is a bit complex in micro controller worlds, he grabbed one of the STM32F101CBs for their beefy cpu and got to work. Getting the texture from minecraft proved to be a bit of a bear as they are not static images, but are calculated on startup. A bit of C code on the PC quickly generates an appropriate pattern and is exported to the micro controller for display in its final home.
The case is made out of wood and once finished looks just like the “real” thing giving a presentation any “blockhead” would love to have on their desk.
| 12
| 12
|
[
{
"comment_id": "390905",
"author": "Koolguy007",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T13:28:04",
"content": "Anyone who would want this on their desk obviously hasn’t met a ghast before. Otherwise this looks really well done.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390919",
"author": "Life2Death",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T14:06:57",
"content": "missing paint dividers on the step stones, but otherwise, sell it!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390935",
"author": "TheKhakinator",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T14:50:12",
"content": "I would be really disappointed when I couldn’t put anything through the portal.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390936",
"author": "immanotabot",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T14:51:30",
"content": "video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDYlnt7I4r4",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390941",
"author": "Colecago",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T15:02:20",
"content": "Frick, beat me to it. I wanted to make one for my wife.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390945",
"author": "Sodor",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T15:12:15",
"content": "Nice!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390949",
"author": "Mark",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T15:20:10",
"content": "Real time updating with block/item you have selected while playing would sell this.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390969",
"author": "M4CGYV3R",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T16:50:01",
"content": "Wasn’t this some kind of April Fools thing from ThinkGeek too? Nifty.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390971",
"author": "M4CGYV3R",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T16:50:59",
"content": "Yep, here it is.http://www.thinkgeek.com/interests/looflirpa/e8bf/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391030",
"author": "IJ Dee-Vo",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T19:48:08",
"content": "epic!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391112",
"author": "zokier",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T00:37:29",
"content": "Those displays really are cheap, at least at ebay. I wonder what kind of performance he got with that STM32? Too bad those connectors are so hacker-unfriendly, I could definitely figure some uses for such displays.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391230",
"author": "Sprite_tm",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T09:08:46",
"content": "@zokier: I’m thinking of designing an adapter board, perhaps even with a nice ARM on it like the LPC1343 to control it. I may even start selling them if there’s enough interest.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,196.052119
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/06/digital-audio-on-the-parallax-propeller/
|
Digital Audio On The Parallax Propeller
|
Brian Benchoff
|
[
"digital audio hacks",
"Microcontrollers"
] |
[
"digital audio",
"parallax",
"parallaxpropeller",
"spdif"
] |
[Beth] had the idea for transmitting digital audio over S/PDIF on a Propeller a few years ago, but only just got around to a
writeup
. For that, we thank her.
The writeup has a marvelous walkthrough of the S/PDIF protocol and the problems associated with with generating the signal. S/PDIF is a relatively resource-intensive protocol – the signal is clocked at 64x the audio sample rate. That signal is doubled for
biphase mark code
, keeping everything in sync. [Beth] says the microcontroller would neet at least 24 MIPS of processing power just to generate the S/PDIF signal – processing audio would be another task altogether. Because of the processing power needed, and the
weird
clock rates needed, [Beth] decided to go with the Propeller. The implementation uses only one core of the Propeller, leaving another seven cores available for sound synthesis or even a visualization over VGA.
[Beth] admits this could be done with just about any microcontroller (although it would need to be clocked at a multiple of 4.096 MHz for a 32kHz audio stream), but we really appreciate the work that went into bit-banging this signal.
Video of [Nick] at Gadget Gangster playing around with digital audio on a Propeller after the break.
[vimeo
http://vimeo.com/19992819%5D
| 12
| 11
|
[
{
"comment_id": "390896",
"author": "Toumal",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T12:11:24",
"content": "Dzihan and Kamien, the man has taste ;)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390920",
"author": "Life2Death",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T14:07:59",
"content": "Doesnt this need a laser diode to work properly?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390932",
"author": "Newman",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T14:40:37",
"content": "Any light source that can be switched on or off fast enough will work fine. Typical home audio interconnects are non-coherent, meaning cheap light sources and cheap optical cables.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390960",
"author": "macw",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T16:18:46",
"content": "it’s neat that the encoding of the protocol is so complex and esoteric, but the physical layer is just a single SMD LED.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390978",
"author": "Fingerman",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T17:29:02",
"content": "This makes me want to convert a handheld or studio microphone to optical SP/DIF. Probably something wireless, since it’ll have power built in. It would be great for field recording in hostile environments, where you have to run cabling through seawater or mud or across a pool.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390979",
"author": "chippage",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T17:31:15",
"content": "Aren’t their chips that are designed to do s/pdif?There are certainly small devices – portable a/d’s and recorders – that output and accept s/spif.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391004",
"author": "chango",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T18:34:40",
"content": "SP/DIF is a braindead simple protocol, but it’s not something that lends itself to bitbangery. If your micro has a buffered and decently configured SPI interface you’re better off doing I2S and using an external converter. Using a micro to generate it directly insures you’re going to introduce jitter into the signal and add distortion to the audio unless it’s reclocked.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391044",
"author": "Newman",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T21:08:05",
"content": "Distortion is an analog concept. With a digital protocol either the data gets there or it doesn’t. A little jitter won’t hurt a thing, a lot of jitter corrupts the data.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1003416",
"author": "TheJim",
"timestamp": "2013-05-12T13:33:15",
"content": "Not true, I’m afraid. It’s not about whether the data gets there or not, it’s about how it’s reproduced from that point on. A lot of cheap and nasty reproduction systems recover clock from S/PDIF and use it to directly drive a DAC. Clock recovery from a clock-embedded signal is prone to all kinds of distortions, and any jitter will only make it worse. Then there’s possible SRC at the receiving end – S/PDIF has no fixed rates, so some receivers are designed to resample the data to a standard rate based on the instantaneous timing of the incoming signal.Your statement applies only to buffered systems with full reclocking and proper isolation. Many many systems are not that well engineered.",
"parent_id": "391044",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "391096",
"author": "blue carbuncle",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T23:05:46",
"content": "My soundblaster AWE64 gold had spdif lol. We mainly used it back in the day to sync to video via in-house clock. Higher res than MTC and FSK at least back then. No tellin what you kids are into now ;)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391242",
"author": "makomk",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T10:34:36",
"content": "SP/DIF is a self-clocking protocol – it doesn’t just matter that the data gets there, it also matterswhenexactly the data gets there. For fairly unavoidable reasons SP/DIF attached DACs generally derive their clock from the recovered clock of the SP/DIF link. If there’s jitter in the clock you get jitter in your DAC clock too and that leads to distortion of the analog audio.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391243",
"author": "makomk",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T10:35:29",
"content": "S/PDIF even… apparently I copied the typo of the comment I was replying to.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,196.154746
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/05/mini-light-table-fits-inside-a-briefcase/
|
Mini Light Table Fits Inside A Briefcase
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Misc Hacks"
] |
[
"briefcase",
"light table",
"portable"
] |
Hackaday forum member [Mike] was looking for project ideas when his girlfriend, an art major,
suggested that he build her a light table to help with her various assignments
. Having seen a few of these projects pop up from time to time, he figured he was up to the task. He started hunting around at his local thrift stores and finally came across what he was looking for – a hard-sided Samsonite briefcase.
He ripped out the bottom lining of the briefcase and proceeded to paint the inside white in order to properly reflect the lighting he would be adding shortly. A pair of under-cabinet lights were installed, and wired to be easily toggled on the outside of the case. He located some white acrylic to serve as the top of the table, trimming it to fit snugly in the case without any need for fasteners.
His girlfriend loved the table, though we would be interested in seeing a more portable version – it is built into a briefcase after all. We would love to hear your suggestions on how he might make this more portable, so let us know in the comments.
| 38
| 36
|
[
{
"comment_id": "390672",
"author": "Nick",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T22:54:37",
"content": "Just out of curiosity, how is a briefcase NOT portable? I mean, if there are insane gobs of wiring coming out everywhere, yeah, sure, it’s hardly portable, but… It is a briefcase… Something DESIGNED with portability in mind…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390674",
"author": "Snobound",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T22:56:38",
"content": "Nice idea. I see a couple of alternate paths that could make this truly portable. First direction – replace the AC powered under cabinet lights with a few feet of LED ribbon that could be powered by an on board battery. Second direction – repurpose the backlight from a defunct 17″ or 19″ LCD monitor and again power the inverter with an on board battery.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390676",
"author": "dave",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T23:07:48",
"content": "Yeah, what I was gonna say…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390679",
"author": "proflt",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T23:12:54",
"content": "i think portable power is what had was trying to say. You could rip some scanners apart for there bulbs and power supplys. they normally run from 9-12vdc. that would be low power and very bright.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390689",
"author": "namo",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T23:38:46",
"content": "Hacker: “Look, I made a portable light-table that’s in a briefcase!”HAD: “Too bad it’s not portable, it’s a briefcase afterall…”I have to wonder what does hack a day think briefcases are for anyway?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390691",
"author": "kimg",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T23:41:11",
"content": "Seems like you could have a much more compact version if you ripped out the backlighting pieces from a LED monitor.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390701",
"author": "Renee",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T23:59:01",
"content": "Seems portable enough, I’d just add a spot inside to hold pens and pencils and other art supplies.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390702",
"author": "zacdee316",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T00:07:07",
"content": "A small scanner would be the best method. You could tap into the original electronics and turn the lamp on with a switch. That way you can still use the scanner for it’s original purpose.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390712",
"author": "mad_max",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T00:43:18",
"content": "I like how his girlfriend “suggested” that he make it for her. Oh, girlfriends. You do a lot of suggesting.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390737",
"author": "Renee",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T01:51:08",
"content": "Yes, not unlike how boyfriends suggest that women have their hair in a certain way or that they wear something specific or that maybe she should try something different during you know what.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390775",
"author": "Anonymous",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T03:29:43",
"content": "Renee, that’s pretty suggestive.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390776",
"author": "David",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T03:31:25",
"content": "Sex? Are you talking about sex?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390782",
"author": "DudeGuy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T04:02:40",
"content": "That was the funniest derailment I’ve seen in a while. Back on topic. Nice build! Totally portable, it is a briefcase. I want one.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390784",
"author": "kevin",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T04:10:33",
"content": "Portable light tables are commercially available. I have a little one (about 10cmx15cm) that uses a white backlight similar to a LCD screen’s. It can run off a wall wart or a 9V battery.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390806",
"author": "JediTalian",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T05:46:39",
"content": "in my quest to consume less wattage while not knowing how much wattage i was actually consuming, i found a 95W max PSU in an old 400mhz pc. pretty small for a computer power supply, too. stick something conductive (der, copper wire) between a green and black wire, plug in some cold-cathodes and voila! Not that i have any idea what a light table is used for, but one 12″ cold cathode lights my room way too much, and they are cheap, at ~$7.00 for 2 12″ lights and the little blue box i like to burn things with, plus adhesive velcro pads, and an on-off switch + expansion slot cover thingamajig. cold cathodes pull like 3W max, if that. with the proper power supply feeding it 12v, and an extension cord (or inverter and car battery) PORTAbLe. (minus the car battery, extension cord is lighter and easier to cram into tight spaces.)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390814",
"author": "CRJEEA",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T06:23:11",
"content": "Why take the voltage up from 12v to 240v with and inverter and then back to 12v again with a psu? a bit wasteful I think.Considering the voltage is stepped up for the cold cathodes anyway… Maybe if cold cathodes are to be a must, use thoughs small 12v inverter supply’s you can buy for pc cold cathode lighting? Wire them serial/parallel until you have enough to light larger tubes. (I would suggest insulating them a lot. Even from them selves as they van make half inch arcs on their own)Personally I would go with a large number of super bright LEDs. (not luxons",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390816",
"author": "CRJEEA",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T06:25:43",
"content": "Why take the voltage up from 12v to 240v with and inverter and then back to 12v again with a psu? a bit wasteful I think.Considering the voltage is stepped up for the cold cathodes anyway… Maybe if cold cathodes are to be a must, use thoughs small 12v inverter supply’s you can buy for pc cold cathode lighting? Wire them serial/parallel until you have enough to light larger tubes. (I would suggest insulating them a lot. Even from them selves as they van make half inch arcs on their own)Personally I would go with a large number of super bright LEDs. (not luxons they get too hot for a small space). And then run it all from lithium batteries. Simple light and won’t break if dropped. (not suggesting in anyway not to trust a woman with tech…).",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390820",
"author": "Pete",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T06:48:40",
"content": "I had to make one for my daughter and I used the LCD panel from a MacBook which had a smashed TFT panel. The base board was 6 mm plywood and I used an external CCFL inverter for the backlight supply and the whole thins runs off a 12V brick. I had to mount the inverter to the side but the result is a really slim and portable light box.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390848",
"author": "Kevin",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T09:07:45",
"content": "zacdee316: Have you looked inside a scanner? (just open the lid while scanning) it only has one light tube that is moved back and fourth under the glass, there’s no way to use it as a light table.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390849",
"author": "Sean",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T09:14:43",
"content": "Have to agree – how portable do you want ?I did a similar build about 25yrs ago with clear plastic and uv lamps for exposing pcb’s and also built into an old brief/attache case (probably 18 or 20 inch). It was beautifully portable and in terms of size it was actually very close to commercial units but lighter (most were all metal construction) and of course a fraction of the price.In my case I also incorporated a small electro-mechanical timer which I think came from some kind of kitchen equipment.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390859",
"author": "philippe",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T09:51:10",
"content": "Electroluminescent backlight ?http://www.elec2go.com.au/category7_1.htm",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390903",
"author": "Mike Nathan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T13:20:50",
"content": "To answer the question of “how portable do we want?”, I was imagining something that does not require 120v to run.Perhaps something along the lines of a couple of scavenged power tool battery packs with an external charging port and perhaps some CFLs.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390916",
"author": "Colecoman1982",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T14:02:21",
"content": "Say “what” again. Say “what” again. I dare you. I double-dare you, motherfucker. Say “what” one more goddamn time.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390933",
"author": "Chris",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T14:43:02",
"content": "I like philippe’s idea. I would like those guys to put up specs though… how many lumens are we talking about on those EL sheets?C",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390943",
"author": "Kuhltwo",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T15:06:23",
"content": "Good Idea. And with 10 to the unth power of possibilities and ideas. Just pick your poison or what you have laying around the shop.BTW, who let the troll in?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390944",
"author": "philippe",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T15:09:43",
"content": "I don’t know about lumens, here are a few technical infos :http://www.surelight.com/files/EL_Parallel_Panel_Technical_Data_sheet.pdf",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "390977",
"author": "Chris",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T17:25:13",
"content": "I have no idea what cd/m*squared is…",
"parent_id": "390944",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "390951",
"author": "Isotope",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T15:54:24",
"content": "It works, she’s happy. Why does HAD always feel the need to find inadequacies?“…WE would have liked to see…”then build it yourself. jeez.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390961",
"author": "Yomama",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T16:20:04",
"content": "Maybe all the anger and negativity in the comments are finally getting to these hackaday guys. Maybe they are becoming one of us and dig up inadequacies in everything too.Or maybe they were just trying to spark conversation.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390975",
"author": "MikeLinPA",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T17:10:21",
"content": "More portable than that? OK! I got you covered.An iPAD or clone displaying a white screen. Possibly as easy as opening up a blank text document or a blank web page. 10+ hour battery life, and it comes with a charger. No hacking needed.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "390976",
"author": "Chris",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T17:21:16",
"content": "Too small…",
"parent_id": "390975",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "391001",
"author": "james",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T18:17:42",
"content": "I want one on the lid of my laptop!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391035",
"author": "Renee",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T20:13:12",
"content": "@ Chris, cd/m2 is candela per square meterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candela_per_square_metre",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391122",
"author": "chango",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T01:33:10",
"content": "Colecoman1982: The first thing I thought of when I saw this was Marsellus Wallace’s briefcase.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391162",
"author": "jaded",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T04:43:35",
"content": "There’s a coincidence. Truck in the driveway + tailgate down == workbench. I have the same one!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391179",
"author": "mjrippe",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T06:05:20",
"content": "@ Renee – This is why I need to date a geek girl. I can “suggest” she that builds some projects and she can “suggest” that I try something different during you know what!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391349",
"author": "nick",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T18:28:05",
"content": "James, just replace the housing for your laptop with something clear. could be as simple as cutting out a section and fitting a sheet of acrylic",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391471",
"author": "Steve",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T02:21:25",
"content": "I would throw in a handful of cyalume glowsticks,so it can be used in tactical situations,and alsoemergencies.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,196.424536
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/05/modular-security-system-is-portable-too/
|
Modular Security System Is Portable Too
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Security Hacks"
] |
[
"alarm",
"atmega",
"matrix keypad",
"security"
] |
Hackaday reader [Oneironaut] wrote in to share
a modular, portable security system he built for himself
.
He likes visiting the Caribbean, but his favorite vacation spot is apparently rife with cat burglars. He enjoys sleeping with the windows open and wanted to find a way to scare off ne’er do wells. At home, there are a few different buildings on the property he owns, and he was looking to keep curious trespassers away.
The alarm system was built using a matrix keypad that interfaces with an ATMega88 micro controller. The micro controller handles all the logic for the system, triggering an attached “pocket alarm” when ever the sensor is tripped. Like most household alarms, it is armed and disarmed via the keypad, giving the user 60 seconds to enter the disarm code if the alarm has been mistakenly tripped. A wide array of trigger methods can be used, from mercury switches to motion detectors, since his alarm uses a simple plug interface that accepts any two-wire sensor.
Now, no one is claiming that this is high security by any means – the alarm addresses a couple of specific scenarios that apply to [Oneironaut], which may also be applicable to others out there. At the end of the day, the alarm is more meant to scare an intruder into fleeing than anything else, and in that respect, it works perfectly.
Continue reading to see a quick video demonstration of his alarm system in action.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k20qBRfN_hw&w=470]
| 11
| 11
|
[
{
"comment_id": "390661",
"author": "jwrm22",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T22:20:05",
"content": "Nice project. But why doesn’t the potential thief just hit the off button?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390668",
"author": "kernelcode",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T22:47:55",
"content": "It’s both sad and a little funny that a year or two ago this would have been accepted as a good build, but now the post needs a paragraph justifying that it’s not meant to be a high security system.F’in trolls.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390735",
"author": "Mork",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T01:49:44",
"content": "@kernelcodeWhat do you want ? Everyone to sing koombayaand hold hands everytime a new post is put up?It’s a PUBLIC announcement of your “hack”.Which means by definition, it’s subject tothe whims of anyone reviewing it.Good, bad, or indifferent. Comes with beinga public post. You don’t have the thick skinto handle a negative review, then don’t bein politics (or post anything here).Regarding the ‘hack’. Probably easier tojust order a ready made device for $20 fromany one of a number of vendors.As a technical exercise, it’s great if youhave the free time to build it. Some of usdon’t.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390837",
"author": "FoxxCommand",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T07:58:17",
"content": "‘cat burglars’ you mean Pirates, right?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390841",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T08:26:30",
"content": "geesh, just hide your cats.duh",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390958",
"author": "RSN53",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T16:14:26",
"content": "I can see major difficulties getting a device like this past the TSA inspectors on my way to my vacation getaway.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391013",
"author": "Seshan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T18:50:00",
"content": "That doesn’t look like a bomb at all.Also, that off button is stupid, wats the point in a code when you can just turn it off.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391046",
"author": "Oneironaut",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T21:08:28",
"content": "Thanks for posting my project HAD.Yeah… it might look a little suspicious in your luggage! Ironically, the only thing the Dominican customs people ever gave me problems with was some food I was bringing… never the electronics!The alarm lives in an old abandoned building now… don’t want anyone going in there and falling through the old floor.Cheers!Brad",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391093",
"author": "pogyhauler",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T23:00:07",
"content": "Well, it may be cheaper than plywood in the holes.. But, If a kid goes missing and gets found 6 months later in your cellar, I doubt this electronic marvel is gonna keep you outa jail.When the local Pharmecuticals Conglomerate decides to utilize your convenient Cemetary Services. You think you can work up a good plausible deniability speech?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391314",
"author": "dbear",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T15:56:46",
"content": "So much negativity! Like most hacks this one has uses beyond what is written. Do you have kids? Want to keep to keep them out of someplace? Use the appropriate sensor and mount the unit out of their reach. Want to keep em out of your pool area? A waterproof cabinet and a reed switch/spash sensor combo would go a long way.Or build it for a kid. My grandson would love this to use to keep his younger brother out of his stuff.This build also has a component of a code entry pad that could be pulled out and used for many other projects.You also have a great set of documetation. The maker here documents everything with a well laid out website (not instructables crap). For a novice this is a goldmine.Yes you can buy these commercially. SO WHAT? If you not into making things why are you looking at HAD?Finally to all the bitchers – please preface your comments with how many projects you have had published on HAD so we can know if it is worth listening to you.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391367",
"author": "patman2700",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T19:25:25",
"content": "@dbearThank you. I see the old-tyme HaD spirit lives on!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,196.470314
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/05/tiny-atari-810-disk-drive-upgrade/
|
Tiny Atari 810 Disk Drive Upgrade
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"News"
] |
[
"arm",
"atari",
"cortex m0",
"floppy disk",
"lpc1114",
"microsd"
] |
Everything gets smaller as technology improves. [Rossum] reduced the space needed for an Atari 810 disk drive by
building this tiny replacement
. Of course it doesn’t use floppy disks, but takes a microSD card instead. And it doesn’t stand in the place of one floppy drive, but can emulate up to eight different drives. The best part is that [Rossum] went to the trouble of designing an enclosure and having it fabricated via 3D printing in order to look just like a doll house version of the original hardware. It uses an LPC1114 ARM Cortex-M0 microprocessor to translate data transmissions to and from the Atari hardware, storing it on the 8 GB card.
As usual, you’ll soon find the schematic, board artwork, and code up on
his git repository
soon.
| 25
| 25
|
[
{
"comment_id": "390632",
"author": "Seth",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T21:20:14",
"content": "What’s so awesome about this is that the original Atari 810 was HUGE. Even for the time period people would make fun of my Atari 810 disk drive.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390633",
"author": "Seth",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T21:20:35",
"content": "Those were the days…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390637",
"author": "TheNewHobbyist",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T21:25:10",
"content": "This is honestly one of the coolest things I’ve seen in awhile. Awesome use of 3D printing, really clever.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390646",
"author": "Chuckt",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T21:43:05",
"content": "I never owned an Atari but this project looks exciting.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390648",
"author": "Mr_Bishop",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T21:51:23",
"content": "I bet that LPC1114 has more horse power then the actual system. lolGood work, I love to see when people really care about there hardware enough to go the extra mile. I once made something similar for my Xbox, only it was much easier for me since I just had to find the right hub, re wire a original Xbox port onto it and add a thing here or there. You sir make my Xbox trick look like what it is. Nothing by comparison.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390651",
"author": "Ugly American",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T22:03:13",
"content": "Very cool.There are a couple of similar projects for the C64 but without the micro drive case.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390654",
"author": "rallen71366",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T22:13:58",
"content": "OMG. The replacement drive he crafted has more computing power than the CPU he’s hooked up to! :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390715",
"author": "Garreth",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T00:49:22",
"content": "Whats there to do on atari 810?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390724",
"author": "Newb",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T01:14:36",
"content": "I have to ask.. please don’t hurt me… but can this be done with an Arduino + Processing? Assuming one has the Arduino SD card shield (I do).I guess the answer is yes, Arduino can, since there’s not a lot going on except data shifting and any old Atmel could handle it.My eventual goal would be to do it just with an Atmel (and not waste a complete Arduino) but one step at a time.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390742",
"author": "Don Bailey",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T02:13:48",
"content": "810? Why not the 1050, then it would match…. err not that you can really see it. The real question is does it sound like an 810?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390743",
"author": "saimhe",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T02:15:21",
"content": "Somewhat similar problem. I have a T1000LE (10 MHz 8086!) with a dead 20 MB hard drive. Tried to connect an IDE Flash module (built a wiring adapter for that), no luck. Probably the protocol is too different. But how exactly? Identifying things like CHS addressing limits in the disassembled BIOS code is an enormous task. Those undocumented system management ports are even worse.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390749",
"author": "JediTalian",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T02:44:49",
"content": "that’s like dropping an i7 into a NES",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390774",
"author": "53T",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T03:28:40",
"content": ":(I miss my 800xl. That was my first computer.Weren’t those drive like $450?Single Sided Single Density, baby.Unless you had a US Doubler… and one of those disk notcher gadgets.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390842",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T08:28:11",
"content": "That’s beautiful.Well done!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390878",
"author": "Itwork4me",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T10:48:52",
"content": "Is it a Happy Drive?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390897",
"author": "Bob",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T12:11:28",
"content": "Rossum, doll house, just sayin’. *cue dramatic music",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390922",
"author": "Life2Death",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T14:10:15",
"content": "8x 1GB floppy drives? isnt this about 512x too big per drive? Waste! (Though microSD is cheap cheap cheap)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390946",
"author": "IJ Dee-Vo",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T15:15:12",
"content": "@JediTalian and that would be cool.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390948",
"author": "Cricri",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T15:15:36",
"content": "“designing an enclosure and having it fabricated via 3D printing in order to look just like a doll house version of the original hardware”Brilliant, that’s great :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391025",
"author": "Dead Cat(trollicus)",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T19:36:27",
"content": "My first hack (I was 12) was an atari 1050 disk drive hack. I wrote a sector copy program but in order to “backup” some copy protected software I needed to be able to make bad sectors. I used a simple switch and a resistor to slow the speed of the disk. My copy program would remember the bad sectors then I would flip the switch and write to those areas. This worked surprisingly well and had one more benefit. The “Happy drive” a third party modification sometimes could remove copy protection from certain disks. Anything I could copy with my drive would have it’s copy protection removed if that copy was then copied again with the happy drive! If my copy method could copy a disk(about 75% of the time with copy protected stuff) the happy drive would then be able to remove the copy protection! Allowing unmodified drives to copy the disk from then on.Needless to say I was a hit at the local computer club(I was the youngest member)The Atari 8 bit(6502) was far superior to the commodore 64 with better graphics and a four voice sound chip it was also slightly faster. It really was a joy to work on, the beauty of the design made it a real work of art.The Atari designers later went on to design the Amiga (yes the Amiga was sold by commodore) the history of the Amiga-Atari connection is very interesting.I still have my Atari ST complete with hard drive and “Magic sac” (a mac emulator that ran MUCH faster than the macs at the time) I also have a friend with a STacy(an Atari ST laptop) With Magic sac the STacy was the first Mac laptop!The atari ST with Magic Sac was used by apple to design future mac OS’s!!Troll BBS (1985-1990)Running WW42 lines 2400 baud (later 9600)84 MB onlinePC/Atari filesonline gamesFIDOnetDead Cat (the original Troll!) proprietor.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391154",
"author": "ho0d0o",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T03:52:51",
"content": "I love this. Just pure awesome.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391555",
"author": "robomonkey",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T13:23:57",
"content": "AAAH, Troll BBS, I remember Troll…spent many hours listening to the 300 baud stream across the Atari 800XL.I should build one of these to backup my 100 or so disks I have for my old unit still in the basement.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392791",
"author": "D.McKenzie",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T11:34:00",
"content": "This is amazing. I’ve still got my pil-chipped Atari 800 and 810 drive in the loft and loads of floppies. I’d love to get this onto an SD card before they all die. Great work and can’t wait for the schematic!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "901658",
"author": "brad r",
"timestamp": "2012-12-11T04:48:41",
"content": "retroflashes.com has more of these",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1008070",
"author": "Dwinal Randall",
"timestamp": "2013-05-25T02:56:13",
"content": "when the 810 drive came out the cost for 8Gb would be over $2,000,000 compared to $4-$20 now not to mention size then it would take 95,027 disk that would fill a room compared to the current 64Gb micro SD Card that is the size of a thumb nail its amazing how far we keep going with technology",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,196.105352
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/05/dabbling-with-cpld-generated-vga-signals/
|
Dabbling With CPLD Generated VGA Signals
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"Microcontrollers"
] |
[
"Altera",
"cpld",
"dac",
"EPM7128SLC84-7N",
"resistor",
"vga"
] |
It seems like all the cool kids are leaving the 8-bit hobby microcontrollers in the parts bin and playing with more advanced parts like Complex Programmable Logic Devices. [Chris] is no exception to the trend, and
set out to generate his own VGA signal using one of the beefy semiconductors
.
It seems that he’s using the acronyms CPDL and FPGA interchangeable in his post but according to the parts list this setup uses an Altera EPM7128SLC84-7N CPLD. In order to generate the VGA signal he needed a way to convert the digital signals from the chip into the analog values called for in the video standard. He chose to build a Digital Analog Converter for the RGB color values using a resistor network which he calculated using
PSpice
. The other piece in the puzzle is a 25.175 MHz oscillator to clock the CPLD. As you can see after the break, his wire-wrapped prototype works exactly as designed. The example code generates the rainbow bars seen above, or a bouncing box demo reminiscent of a DVD player screen saver.
Want to know more about programming CPLDs?
We did a tutorial on the subject
a while back.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc572ygU70o&w=470]
| 13
| 13
|
[
{
"comment_id": "390617",
"author": "Thane",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T20:12:33",
"content": "I bet he had to replace the caps in that samsung monitor.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390641",
"author": "JuggaloStoopid",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T21:38:52",
"content": "I tried doing something like this in school as a final project.. But I failed do to the restrictions on the project and chip. The chip had a max osciliator of 4MHz and that is no where fast enough to do any kind of processing for the chip to output on the screen… I was able to do a square pattern with just an on/off toggle.. I still got 100% on my project due to it being advanced beyond the class and I recognized where my limitations were…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390839",
"author": "Jakob",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T08:20:38",
"content": "I think this is a general trend actually. More and more are moving to programmable logic, and not just “the kool kids”.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390853",
"author": "Steve B",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T09:30:40",
"content": "I did this a few years ago on a Xilinx CoolRunner II board, but with a full framebuffer using external SRAM that I kludged to the expansion connectors, and a PIC MCU to (very sloooowly) load patterns or images.I would have whipped up a write up on it, had I known they’d actually post something like this on hackaday :-/No need for 25.175 MHz, if you happen to have a 50MHz oscillator (some of the Spartan 3 starter boards come with that IIRC), you can just divide it and use 25 MHz, most monitors are pretty tolerant of that.Use a really crappy oscillator, however, and you won’t get a clean image.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390986",
"author": "AnarKIT",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T17:52:54",
"content": "Steve B,Its sometimes better to have the correct clock, dividing with the internal logic eats up flip flops, and CPLDs don’t have nearly as many as FPGAs.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391118",
"author": "J Harton",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T00:46:20",
"content": "This is a bit overkill just for drawing some bars. Admittedly 512 colors is pretty good and the bouncing ball demo looks to run pretty smooth. However, you can apparently do a fair bit with een an Atmega32, like this guy did ->http://neil.franklin.ch/Projects/SoftVGA/Also, this one that uses AVR with SDRAM ->http://tinyvga.com/avr-sdram-vga",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391168",
"author": "Amos",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T05:06:48",
"content": "@Steve B. Write that up and post it somewhere, please! I want to do something very similar.BTW, how big was your buffer and what was your screen resolution? I need at least 384x224x2bpp (preferably 4bpp) for my project.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391263",
"author": "Rudie",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T12:12:12",
"content": "Some time go i build a pong game without a framebuffer. (on a DE nano) eache pixel is generated in sync with the vga update. mayby ik can find it back in my projects, and share it if someone is intrested.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391312",
"author": "Steve B",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T15:52:27",
"content": "@Amos, if I remember right, I had 128k x 8bit of memory, which would even be enough for 384×224 at 8 bits per pixel if you wanted.I used Cypress memory chips, I either got a free sample, or got them pretty cheap from Digi-Key in an SOJ package, then soldered them onto little SOJ adapter boards and hand wired boards to connect them to female box connectors so I could connect them to the CoolRunner II board by ribbon cable. I actually still have them in a shoe box in my closet collecting dust.If I dug up the software, I could probably have it working again pretty quickly.I had two memory chips for double buffering, but I have some code for pseudo dual-porting by reading and writing on alternate clock cycles.Maybe I can write something up for ya if I have some free time in the next few days.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391451",
"author": "anfegori91",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T00:16:51",
"content": "Configurable logic is the future of complex digital systems. Soon, the software will be replaced by dedicated logic systems and the processing will be almost instantaneous, making real parallel processing computers. Now there are up to 3 GHz CPUs, but if you haven’t a 3 GHz data bus it is a nonsense approach.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391500",
"author": "Amos",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T06:59:15",
"content": "@Steve B. that sounds perfect. Anything you can share would be great, and there’s no rush. Even just a few Verilog/VHDL snippets would be cool, just to give me a push in the right direction. Now I just need to find a cheap CPLD with enough I/O pins…@Chris (PyroElectro) if you’re reading: Excellent site; thanks for sharing and keep up the good work!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391553",
"author": "Steve B",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T13:13:38",
"content": "@AmosI posted my old pics and info to my otherwise very inactive blog for you, with a basic description of how it works, and a link to the whole VHDL source file that went into the CR-II. I didn’t go as far as making a proper schematic, and didn’t include external MCU source code, but I’m sure you can figure out what you’d like to do with that. If I were to do this again from the ground up today, I’d probably use a very different MCU anyway.http://computer-nerding.blogspot.com/2011/05/turning-back-clock-summer-2007.html",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391637",
"author": "matt",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T19:55:59",
"content": "I made a VGA controller back in 2004, it looked very similar to this, but I used a Xilinx XC9500 CPLD, an external SRAM to store bitmaps and an I/O port for a master system. I like it, but VGA is quite obsolete now.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,196.572414
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/05/light-painting-still-shots-and-animations/
|
Light Painting – Still Shots And Animations
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"Arduino Hacks",
"LED Hacks"
] |
[
"light painting",
"record player",
"stopped motion",
"turntable"
] |
[Kim Pimmel’s] been doing some really interesting
light painting with an Arduino
. In the past we’ve seen several light painting projects which use
long exposures to capture moving LEDs
, or
moving LCD displays
. But [Kim’s] stepping it up a notch, using cold cathode flourescent lamps, electroluminescent (EL) wire, and lasers. The vibrant colors put out by these sources make for some great photos, but that’s not all she’s got up her sleeve. After accumulating a ton of still photographs from various shoots she decided to edit them together into stopped motion videos.
After the break you can see that one method she used to make these images was to spin the light sources on a standard audio turntable. An Arduino is controlled through processing via Bluetooth in order to move the stepper motor-mounted lights while the record player spins. Add some futuristic music thanks to Daft Punk (which is exactly what she did) and you’re in business.
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/14980662 w=470]
[Thanks
@littlebirdceo
via
Arduino Blog
]
| 12
| 12
|
[
{
"comment_id": "390595",
"author": "Blackrifle",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T19:17:54",
"content": "That was really awesome.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390624",
"author": "tapius",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T20:54:50",
"content": "fucking leet.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390636",
"author": "Bob Spafford",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T21:24:22",
"content": "Er, uh, Kim does not look like a “she”.This is a great idea! Does anyone have ideas as to the least expensive digital camera which gives you a “time exposure” function?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390669",
"author": "Renee",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T22:48:06",
"content": "Aww, I’m doing this exact project for my Photo class right now. I didn’t even think to send it to HaD.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390675",
"author": "Nick",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T22:58:16",
"content": "Gorgeous.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390780",
"author": "NatureTM",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T03:48:22",
"content": "Wow, that is really impressive. Can we see more pics of the hardware and information about the techniques?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390791",
"author": "Tech B.",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T04:44:09",
"content": "This was pretty epic. The music was an excellent choice. Does any one know what song that was?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390829",
"author": "Mr. Name Required",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T07:21:20",
"content": "Very much in the style of a digital James Whitney and his analog computer for film (see Youtube).",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390923",
"author": "Bram",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T14:12:07",
"content": "@ Bob,Not much, you are looking for a camera with a so called ‘Bulb’ function, which lets you open the ‘shutter’ for as long as you want.Even though most standard digital camera’s can be set up to a exposure time of about 30s, which is more then enough for this kind of stuff,.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391011",
"author": "Sean",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T18:48:27",
"content": "FYI: Kim is not a she.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391029",
"author": "Aaron",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T19:44:38",
"content": "The music is by Daft Punk, from the Tron Legacy soundtrack.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391419",
"author": "Jan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T23:01:55",
"content": "Pimmel means dick in colloquial german :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,196.701073
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/05/gitbrew-brings-otheros-back-to-the-ps3/
|
Gitbrew Brings OtherOS Back To The PS3
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Linux Hacks",
"Playstation Hacks"
] |
[
"bootloader",
"dual boot",
"firmware",
"otheros",
"ps3"
] |
Instead of simply watching the days pass by while the PSN network continues to be unavailable, why not do something useful with your PS3 console? [MS3FGX] wrote in to share some news regarding efforts to bring the OtherOS option back to the PS3.
The team at gitbrew.org have been diligently working to bring Linux back to the console for a little while now, and
have released a dual-boot firmware they are calling OtherOS++
. This firmware has two huge benefits over Sony’s original attempt at Linux support for the console. It can be run on the original “fat” PS3s as well as the newer “slim” models – something that was not possible until now. Additionally, it gives the Linux install full access to the PS3’s hardware rather than running the OS inside a virtual machine.
The project is relatively new, so the installation procedures and associated documentation are not suitable for the less experienced individuals out there, so consider yourself warned.
We love that there are people doing all they can to bring this awesome feature back to the PS3 – it’s a huge step in the right direction.
[Image via
gitbrew
]
| 62
| 50
|
[
{
"comment_id": "390523",
"author": "woutervddn",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T16:18:03",
"content": "s*ck on this sony.. Although I wonder if it would result in yet another lawsuit.btw, I thought there already was a way to run the original ‘fat’ ps3 firmware on the ps3 slim. Or am I wrong here?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390524",
"author": "NatureTM",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T16:23:43",
"content": "Funny, my SSD on my PC failed last night, so I was looking for something to do. I ended up messing with my PS3, and was wishing there was a way to install Linux again. Good timing!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390526",
"author": "tony",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T16:28:14",
"content": "I can’t help but think that if Sony had not canned the Linux support in the first place, then hackers might have been less likely to target them.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390528",
"author": "PocketBrain",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T16:33:40",
"content": "Jolly good, sir! At last, we have access to our own hardware. I was disheartened when Sony saw fit to remove a feature that I had listed as a plus vs. other platforms, in making my purchasing decision. One that I had taken advantage of, installing Ubuntu for PS3. I hope this doesn’t inspire Sony to remove other features, like F@H and PS2 support. Perhaps their focus will be on securing their own network for long enough for us to do some good with this.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390532",
"author": "Surma",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T16:47:32",
"content": "I wonder how long it takes until we are able to launch the games from within Linux – be that from BluRay-Disc or the infamous backup copy.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390534",
"author": "lwatcdr",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T16:51:24",
"content": "So do we now have full access to the GPU and all the cells?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390535",
"author": "w0rl4ck",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T16:53:20",
"content": "GPU drivers MIA",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390537",
"author": "xorpunk",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T16:55:07",
"content": "gimee free stuffz..I wantz waruz..dis runz backoops??? yo you gangsta?sorry..had to do it xD",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390539",
"author": "cryptopsy90",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T17:04:16",
"content": "Geohot was merely a setback.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390540",
"author": "M",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T17:14:58",
"content": "I’d love to see somebody start a replacement version of the PSN powered by all the recent uberhacks that people could run on a LAN. Call it the Working Play Network. It’d get me to consider actually buying one.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390544",
"author": "spiritplumber",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T17:19:02",
"content": "Dear Sony,you should really consider cooperating with your customers instead of fighting against them. Your recent history proves that it is a more optimal solution.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390551",
"author": "xorpunk",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T17:37:11",
"content": "@spiritplumber: They did by removing a method to run unsigned code they couldn’t fix it without removing Linux..Most people didn’t even use it, it’s just software pirates crying the blues now cause they have to pay for others hard work..",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390562",
"author": "patxitron",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T18:03:59",
"content": "@xorpunk: It seems that there will always be someone that find the method to run unsigned code.I stopped buying PS3 games as soon as Sony removed the otherOS feature so I’ve continued using linux in PS3 and plying only old games.Only a fucking moron could think that PS3 linux users are software pirates.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390563",
"author": "silverpalm",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T18:07:05",
"content": "linux was bought back a long time along by graf_chokolo sont thanked him by kicking his door down lol",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390570",
"author": "Blucat",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T18:14:59",
"content": "@xorpunk: while it’s true that most people didn’t use it, saying it was “just” the software pirates complaining is a rather unfair.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390576",
"author": "bothersaidpooh",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T18:27:35",
"content": "What this would be ideal for is making mobile robots using PS3 mainboards.On the flip side, has anyone confirmed that this works on RSoD consoles? I have one here which is otherwise unfixable, any ideas?If not, maybe the OP can find a way to work around bad flash chips?I did look into using multiple parallel connected xD cards but it looks like this won’t work sadly.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390598",
"author": "DeadlyFoez",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T19:29:34",
"content": "@SilverPalm, Actually, Marcan brought OtherOS back in the form of AsbestOS before graf even took a look at it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390602",
"author": "John",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T19:35:55",
"content": "@xorpunkDon’t be stupid. I don’t have one piece of unlicensed software. I like to explore, and that’s what my PS3 allowed me to do- at one time, just what it was advertised to do. I still see commercials claiming that “it only does EVERYTHING”.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390603",
"author": "John",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T19:39:38",
"content": "And, another comment- You’re missing the goddamn point. I PAID for this functionality. PAID. I PAID for something that was advertised. If Fony’s so great, why didn’t they come up with another way to prevent thievery, instead of bending people who PAID over the barrel?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390612",
"author": "Masta Squidge",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T19:50:07",
"content": "@ Tony…There was an “announcement” claiming to be from anon that states the sole purpose for the attacks was as retaliation for Sony pulling the plug on “OtherOS”.Whether this is true or not I don’t know, but it can be found on youtube. Or could for a while.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390613",
"author": "FunPanda",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T19:57:48",
"content": "If I visit gitbrew’s site should I expect my IP address to be showing up in court documents soon courtesy of Sony? :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390619",
"author": "someone",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T20:39:21",
"content": "@Masta SquidgeBecause Anonymous can be trusted.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390642",
"author": "SexieWASD",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T21:39:42",
"content": "In b4 lawsuit!Really though, is it going to be a surprise?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390659",
"author": "andrew",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T22:15:55",
"content": "fail0verflow were working on this but I guess Sony’s injunction stopped them",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390666",
"author": "Maave",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T22:44:52",
"content": "F*** YEAH. Now put this on a PS3 laptop mod and prepare your head for imminent explosion.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390673",
"author": "Franta",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T22:56:35",
"content": "I’m writing my master’s thesis for Cell … I’m running it od PS3 … am I a pirate ?:)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390753",
"author": "Hoopstar",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T02:50:48",
"content": "What is the point of being able to run ‘other OS’?Does it mean that I can run some kind of user interface that is more friendly to using my TV as a video jukebox or MP3 player?I don’t play games on my PS3 – it is more a media player..",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390756",
"author": "Pilotgeek",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T02:55:36",
"content": "@FunPanda : If you really are worried I could mirror it for you temporarily.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390799",
"author": "posimosh",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T05:19:05",
"content": "yes please pilot… or i could",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390813",
"author": "Life2Death",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T06:14:03",
"content": "This is awesome, I may consider getting a PS3 again…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390822",
"author": "Necromant",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T07:05:04",
"content": "Owning since 1917? Hm… something tells me these comrades are from somewhere around exUSSR",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390823",
"author": "Necromant",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T07:05:41",
"content": "Oh yeah, leyt sony haveatoughtime tracking those guys down",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390834",
"author": "Me",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T07:41:04",
"content": "Umm, if this OtherOS is Linux-based, why would you show an image of the FreeBSD mascot, Beastie? That should have been a penguin instead, methinks…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390835",
"author": "Me",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T07:42:29",
"content": "(The “you” above being generalised, of course — meaning not Hack a Day but the OtherOS folks.)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390844",
"author": "xorpunk",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T08:41:47",
"content": "Like SCE stated long ago, you don’t have to upgrade..look at how many people are using the exploits for linux related things, and how many are using it for ‘backups’ and stolen content management..like I said..software pirates. Sorry if that’s not trendy..",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390863",
"author": "xbmcUser",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T09:58:51",
"content": "XBMC on PS3 before x360? Thatd be a PS3 Slim for me than :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390888",
"author": "Zeno Arrow",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T11:29:45",
"content": "@xorpunkYour ignorance is exemplary. OtherOS didn’t allow for PS3 game backups, even after the first cracks in the Hypervisor started showing up (courtesy of Geohot).Of course, if you opened your eyes to what was really happening with Sony removing OtherOS (that it was costing Sony money, as people were buying PS3s for uses other than gaming, the console cost is subsidised by game sales remember), then you’d see the truth, but don’t let facts stand in the way of what you believe, it’s all the evil pirates fault isn’t it. *rolleyes*",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390906",
"author": "xorpunk",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T13:29:40",
"content": "@Zeno Arrow: Geohot’s HTAB entries were impossible without unsigned code..The people who did the backup-dongle, and the ones who later did the mailbox overflow and PKI reversing all did it off his exploit by reversing update manager and fuzzing SPU mailboxing with a remote debugger.So, I not only understand the social aspects of the events. But I’m sure you ‘experts’ have it all figured out xDI’m sure game ISOs are all over the net with cracks because DRM prevented people from playing them too xD xD",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390938",
"author": "Otacon2k",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T14:59:21",
"content": "@xorpunk: You don’t get it, do you? Think of the following: You wanna buy a DVD player. To watch DVDs of course. Hey wait, on your harddisk you’ve got this collection of mp3s (backups of disks bought from hard earned money of course). Swapping CDs manually? That’s so 80’s, isn’t it? Why not buy a DVD-Player that can play MP3 as well? Said and done. There you are with your brandnew, shiny DVD-Player. With MP3-functionality. As advertised. Time goes by. All of a sudden your DVD-Player is updated. Where’s the MP3-funtionality? Gone? WTF? How are you gonna listen to your MP3s now? Didn’t you pay for this feature? Hmm…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390939",
"author": "Shaddack",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T14:59:48",
"content": "@xorpunk: Franta above mentioned his thesis being written for Cell.Even a single person like this is enough, with a wide margin, to justify the existence and availability of OtherOS.Besides, in some time the then-obsolete consoles will become ending in trash. Then they can turn into free-as-a-beer, highly powerful computer cores for various fun projects.Then there is the philosophical aspect of who should be allowed to decide what code can run on the owner’s hardware. I don’t understand the people who claim Sony should, instead of the hardware’s owner/possessor. In comparison with the seriousness of this issue, the entire problematics of “piracy” is about 20 dB below the noise floor.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390956",
"author": "xorpunk",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T16:08:49",
"content": "@Otacon2k: think unpatchable security hole on a device that processes credit card information and is capable of online banking ;)Your MP3 player analogy isn’t applicable.@Shaddack: What’s writing a thesis on the CELL processor got to do with piracy branching from abused vulnerability response?I guess the kewl thing to do would be to wait for malicious usage.. I see it now, I really am dumb for not being kewl..",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390959",
"author": "ummm",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T16:16:21",
"content": "@Otacon2k:“All of a sudden your DVD-Player is updated”PS3 dont “suddenly” get updated lol. Try harder.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390965",
"author": "Shaddack",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T16:35:03",
"content": "@xorpunk: The creditcard security model is broken and unsuitable for internet transactions; it’s not the fault of PS3 nor any other device. As long as it will be cheaper for the banks to handle the complaints than to overhaul the infrastructure, we’re out of luck there. The entire thing is a sieve and one hole more or less does not really matter.The thesis is a much more significant issue than the piracy. Both use the same feature of the device. However the latter is unimportant in comparison to the former, and even if piracy is what drives development of tools for opening closed architectures, so be it. We use results of military research – originally intended to kill people – in our daily life, and here we argue about using the results of research also used to play games for free?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390973",
"author": "baruna",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T17:00:09",
"content": "Tragatela toda sony…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391003",
"author": "patxitron",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T18:32:34",
"content": "@ummm: no the PS3 dont suddenly get updated but in the DVD analogy, you can not watch new DVDs if you do not update it and if you do, then you can not play your legitimate mp3.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391105",
"author": "Volfram",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T23:52:02",
"content": "@xorpunk: You are either an idiot, or you are a filthy liar. Either way, you should stop leaving your excrement in the Hack-A-Day comments.“it’s just software pirates crying the blues now cause they have to pay for others hard work.” There are several problems with this statement. Allow me to list as many as I can think of specifically.1: Based on your logic, anything that can be used to commit a crime is useful only for committing a crime. If someone purchases a gun, they are planning on going on a shooting spree. If someone purchases a knife, they intend to stab someone to death. If someone is buying a soldering iron and screwdriver, by your logic, they intend to remove the case from an ATM, attach a credit skimmer to it, replace it, and steal credit card numbers. You have an internet connection, clearly you are conspiring cyberterrorism with a group of anonymous agents across the globe.2: Pirates don’t protest lockdowns like this. Honest customers who purchased their products legally and are now getting locked out due to faulty DRM(Assassin’s Creed 2 for PC. Launch day, the verification servers went down, and not a single legitimate customer could play the game. Everyone who pirated it was unaffected.) protest lockdowns like this. What’s more, the Playstation-based homebrew, hacking, and tinkering communities hate piracy possibly more than Sony themselves. If you’d ever gone to look at what the people you’re dismissing wholesale actually do, you’d find that even suggesting that you might consider using a custom firmware to run pirated software is the fast track to a ban, and furthermore, each of the custom PS3 firmwares released thus far have deliberately blocked backups from running. It would be easier to release an entirely unrestricted firmware, but3: OtherOS was keeping the Playstation 3 from getting hacked, and removing it caused hackers who had previously been happy with a somewhat-open system to target a system which was now closed. The hacking and tinkering communities touted the Playstation 3 loudly before the Slim was released, due to its ability to run a 3rd-party operating system without resorting to shady tricks like reflashing the optical drive’s firmware. It was not until it was announced that the Playstation 3 Slim would not include the OtherOS feature that anybody began looking for a way to run unauthorized code on the Playstation 3.Of course, you’re going to claim I’m wrong on each point, and you’re going to specifically take offense at my note that you are deliberately spreading libelous misinformation with intent to harm the social image of George Hotz, as well as the hacking and tinkering community in general. Nobody likes being called a liar, after all. Especially not if it’s true.Which in this case, it is.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391185",
"author": "krebs",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T06:43:27",
"content": "only reason i brought xbox 1 was because of XBMC, i brought 8 units over the years for friends and at home, I thought the original xbmc on the xbox was one of the most perfect hardware/software experiences out there, they are incredibly cheap now, Microsoft gained a lot of profit i would imagine from people ‘hacking their console’unfortunately, not really up to scratch compared with todays HTPC setups.. if somebody managed to port XBMC over to PS3 i would buy one in a heartbeat, in fact I would buy more than 1, so i find it insane that people are talking about ‘software pirates’ and as if that’s the only reason for modding the PS3.. i really don’t care about any games at all, last time i played one was about 2 years back",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391195",
"author": "SoHighSamurai",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T07:07:50",
"content": "First of all Id like to say DAMN STRAIGHT VOLFRAMSony has tried to take away the free flow of information. They have tried to stop A legal code(GeoHotz jailbreak) from being shared and tried rip it completely off the internet. Now weather or not you agree with Geo or the OTHER O.S feature is besides the point. It’s your freedoms and false advertizing that we should all be concerned about. If you let one company do this and get away with it, other company’s in the future well follow suit!Other prick things they have done. Sony has taken away multiple features of the ps3 that you paid for!!! The original ps3’s were defective and overheated causing the yellow light of death. This was happening to a massive amount of PS3’s. Instead of a recall, they charged $150 and gave you a refurbished one that didn’t even have all the options you paid for ….EMOTION CHIP(backwards compatible), 4 USB PORTS, SD,SD MINI,CF SLOTS,TOUCH SENSITIVE BUTTONS. Later, Sony panicked due to one guy(GeoHotz), and forced the removal of the “install another O.S.” feature(which you paid for). Now the PS3 can not be used as a computer which was another feature/reason people chose the ps3 over X-BOX. I hear people say that PSN is free so we don’t have a right to be upset about it being shut down….by the way nothing is for free. Well I say to that THE PSN WAS WAS ADVERTIZED ON THE SYSTEM BOX WHEN YOU BOUGHT IT AS A FREE NETWORK and is the reason a lot of people bought it instead of X-box 360.PSN was included free with our system purchase so we should expect the same quality as the paid for XBOX Live. How dare they use it as leverage to remove the O.S. When the system breach happened they didn’t give us any info for days about our financial information being downloaded, until they felt that we should be concerned. They should have alerted us right away so we could have taken prevented measures!!!! Who are they to decide if I should be informed about my financial security. 25 year loyal customer, and I have never seen Sony run so poorly. They need to do a hire and fire in management, or when the new systems come out there will be shift in the balance for console leaders. Sony has been slipping that big Co%k in so slowly that we are loosing track of how many inches are already in. Wouldn’t be surprised if Sony starts charging for the PSN in a bit saying that It has to do with better security and online services! Thanks for reading my rant I feel better already…or maybe Sony just started using lube……P.S I don’t know if any of you guys remember the Sony music CD scandal….. Sony got into trouble in November 2005 when it was discovered that the company used a rootkit on music CDs to limit the number of copies a person could make of the CD and to prevent making MP3 files from the music.The rootkit was a bad idea for several reasons. It hid from the user the fact that Sony had placed this copy protection, it sent information about the CD being played to Sony, and it had a loophole that a hacker could use to hide a virus that could take over someone’s computer. There was also no easy way to uninstall it.As far as betraying customers’ trust goes, that’s pretty high up there on the list of things that are hard to recover from.Read more:http://news.cnet.com/8301-31021_3-20058433-260.html#ixzz1LeDGhBrr",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391197",
"author": "SoHighSamurai",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T07:12:25",
"content": "WE ALL NEED TO STICK TOGETHER AND STOP SONY FROM GETTING AWAY WITH THIS. THAT’S THE ONLY WAY TO STOP THESE MASSIVE CORPORATIONS FROM DOING WHAT EVER THEY WAN’T",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391295",
"author": "xorpunk",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T14:21:28",
"content": "people who bottom line subjects based on convenience are entertaining..",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "911730",
"author": "siglla",
"timestamp": "2012-12-31T23:43:45",
"content": "You only live once .Why such bloody corporations as sony ,mac or other should dictate what to watch ,how to behave ,what to eat.Peoples please don’t be crowd of animals which is being pushed around.This is wake up call!!!!!!!",
"parent_id": "391295",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
}
] | 1,760,377,196.885774
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/05/arduino-home-statistics/
|
Arduino Home Statistics
|
Kevin Dady
|
[
"Arduino Hacks",
"home hacks"
] |
[
"automation"
] |
[Mike] is doing a little series that is about DIY smart homes. While these wont turn your house into a Hal 9000 (and hopefully wont try and kill you), they are fun and fairly easy to carry out. Parts 1 and 2 focus on the bathroom, part 3+ is in the works. Lets go ahead and look at what is done already.
DIY smart home part 1
covers the kings throne. Through the use of an Arduino, ultrasonic rangefinder, Ethernet shield, and twitter account, whenever the toilet is used a counter goes up. Calculate that against your gallons per flush and you now have reasonable water tracker.
Diy smart home part 2
hits the shower with much of the same hardware and goals. Adding on to the Arduino software there is now a PIR sensor and another twitter account. Basing knowledge from a
Lady Ada
tutorial on PIR sensors, the additional Arduino code slides into place and some loose ends from part one are cleaned up.
We cant wait to see what is in store for the future and wish [Mike] the best of luck.
| 15
| 15
|
[
{
"comment_id": "390456",
"author": "Hackerspacer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T14:02:47",
"content": "I can’t speak for everyone but my vision of the home of the future does NOT include twitter enabled anything.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390462",
"author": "ZeroCool42",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T14:06:58",
"content": "Hmmm, I have to say, if it were me, I would call that more of an eco-home series.You say smart home to me, I envisage a dwelling that automatically controls lighting, temperature, and does little things like turns down music when the phone rings.Then again, maybe it’s just me, and everyone else automatically thinks of water trackers and twitter.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390466",
"author": "MadHippo",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T14:10:55",
"content": "Twittering aside, at first glance it looks like it’s a useful guide to monitoring stuff with an arduino.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390498",
"author": "lolwatski",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T15:15:04",
"content": "Something like that was here already. Exactly 2 years ago.http://hackaday.com/2009/05/05/twittering-toilet/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390512",
"author": "fartface",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T15:56:46",
"content": "Smart-home for poor people series… People who have Crestron home automation already have this level of integration, although they usually choose to delete twitter integration.Cute to see guys spending a few thousand hours to replicate what others have had in their home 6 years ago.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390521",
"author": "Adrian",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T16:14:46",
"content": "“Cute to see someone who isnt in the top 0.1% of the world’s wealthy spending a few thousand hours to replicate what others just threw money at to have in their home 6 years ago.”Here, I fixed that for you.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390529",
"author": "Squirtle",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T16:33:43",
"content": "Hasn’t the water company done this for us already? Doesn’t every home have a water meter outside somewhere? Or is the intention to monitor every potential use of water in the home?You have not gone to the bathroom a healthy number of times today, Dave. Drink more water.You have not showered in three days, Dave. You stinky bastard. Get in the shower now or I will activate part 5 of my installation and turn off the electricity.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390536",
"author": "rallen71366",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T16:54:21",
"content": "@Adrian – Normally I hate “fixed that for you” statements… But you are soooo right.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390547",
"author": "Hackerspacer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T17:26:00",
"content": "I too was going to post the fixed it comment then realized it had already been done.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390561",
"author": "Mike",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T18:02:57",
"content": "@lolwatski – good point, that toilet actually resulted from a conversation (on a boingboing live chat) I had with one of the guys over at hacklab.http://aculei.net/~shardy/hacklabtoilet/We talked about a toilet that could tweet and both left the conversation with the idea that we would each try to build one. He beat me by 4 days:http://www.impactlab.net/2009/05/08/the-twittering-toilet/However his was much more impressive.@everyone – The plan is to get more complex as the series moves on. The next project will be a garage door controlled with your iphone (including a status monitor that lets you know if its up or down) and a parking sensor inside that tells you when to stop.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390565",
"author": "Hirudinea",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T18:08:11",
"content": "So when is he going to install a web cam to upload his poops to YouTube?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390577",
"author": "Tech Joker",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T18:35:01",
"content": "@Squirtle “Doesn’t every home have a water meter outside somewhere?”Um, NO! Some homes are on wells and there is no measurement of water used. The only cost is the cost to pump it from the well to the home.Oh and as a side benefit, many of these homes that don’t measure or pay for water don’t pay for sewage removal either. They have something called a Septic Tank and a Leach Field.—–I too thought this post would be about controlling HVAC, lighting, sound, or something similar. Twitting that facilities were used is not at the top of my interests, but maybe I can pick up something anyway.—–I would never pay for home automation, though I will gladly spend time and energy building exactly the automation I want and spending very little to get it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390725",
"author": "therian",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T01:21:38",
"content": "twitter for water & pooptube for solids",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390818",
"author": "Justblair",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T06:34:08",
"content": "A couple of things that cross my mind…Why those sensors? Seems pretty crude way of doing things.Why not use a float sensor in the toilet cistern this would measure actual flushes and I think would be cheaper…For the shower, a flow sensor would give more accurate measurement.I see plenty of opportunity for false positive readings with the approaches used.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392647",
"author": "chris",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T02:16:37",
"content": "I cannot wait for the day Twitter dies.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,196.937567
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/05/automate-repetitive-pc-actions-with-a-foot-pedal/
|
Automate Repetitive PC Actions With A Foot Pedal
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Arduino Hacks",
"computer hacks"
] |
[
"arduino",
"foot pedal",
"linux",
"python"
] |
Instructables user [bkovac] was sick of clicking the terminal icon on his desktop whenever he wanted to launch a terminal window. Keyboard shortcuts aside, he figured the easiest way to take the tedium out of the process would be
to launch terminal windows with a foot pedal
.
He grabbed a pedal that he had sitting around in his workshop and took it apart to ensure the switch contacts were configured for his particular use. The wires were run to an Arduino which talks to the computer over serial using a Python script.
While the setup works just fine, it’s definitely not the most efficient or simplest way of getting the job done. In fact,
we have seen other methods that are quite a bit simpler
, though they lack the potential versatility of this particular modification.
Rather than simply loading a terminal window on his computer, we would love to see this pedal enhanced to perform multiple functions – at which point the Arduino would be a pretty decent choice. We would probably start out by swapping out the full-sized Arduino for a Teensy, mounting it inside the pedal. Multiple foot presses could be used to trigger different events, based upon the number of presses that occur within a given time period. It could be made even more useful by using it to trigger gesture-based events, similar to those seen in plug-ins for Chrome and Firefox.
How would you enhance [bkovac’s] pedal interface? Let us know in the comments.
| 41
| 40
|
[
{
"comment_id": "390389",
"author": "Ferg",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T12:10:02",
"content": "I would love to see this enhanced to simulate the scroll wheel for reading.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390391",
"author": "maloushe",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T12:12:46",
"content": "Way too much time and expense…Like the one in the second link, why not just pull the PCB out of a USB keyboard and hook the switch(es) up to a regular or esoteric keystroke?Key re-mapping / macro software can be used too.What’s the advantage of doing it this way?!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390396",
"author": "Aaron",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T12:23:50",
"content": "I’d probably dig up a second one and use them to cycle input focus backward and forward through open windows, in order to have one less reason for needing to take my hands off the keyboard. It’d be nifty to have press-and-hold change virtual desktops, too, and probably easy enough to implement.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390397",
"author": "FoxxCommand",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T12:25:41",
"content": "Makes me think of the set-up in Metalocalypse..",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390399",
"author": "Grovenstien",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T12:30:04",
"content": "i really want to do this for the esc key when i use AutoCAD. Esc and return are the two keys i use very often all day long! So much so i have polished the lettering off of them!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "963090",
"author": "Dominic",
"timestamp": "2013-02-20T20:52:32",
"content": "AutoCAD is what brought me here, too. ESC key, too. I thumb the spacebar for ENTER.",
"parent_id": "390399",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "390404",
"author": "adam outler",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T12:45:14",
"content": "How would I improve it? Search for the Awesome Button. That’s what id do.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390422",
"author": "Flip",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T13:14:44",
"content": "A few years ago I created a 1-key-keyboard project, which is a lot simpler if you ask me. Later I expanded this to a 4-key-keyboard, which can also emulate multiple keys pressed simultaneously, so any system shortcuts can be triggered by pressing just 1 button (or foot pedal if you want)seehttp://blog.flipwork.nl/?x=entry:entry100224-003937;comments",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390431",
"author": "Andrew",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T13:24:32",
"content": "Why not hook the switch up to the serial input lines, like CTS or DSR? Have Python monitor the line and do something when the line changes state.No Arduino required.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390443",
"author": "Anne",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T13:48:42",
"content": "I’d love to talk about the software end of this. I got hold of an older USB transcriptionist’s pedal. I want it to keep it’s function with my transcribing software, but I want to change the functions for other applications. Some pedals have the capacity to do that out of the box, but I have a hunch it’s a software thing and not a hardware one.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390448",
"author": "ProfP",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T13:54:30",
"content": "Over engineered! Use the switch to link the handshake lines on the serial port (e.g. CTS & RTS), monitor with your script and you are golden.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390449",
"author": "AdoZ",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T13:58:17",
"content": "What Andrew said. I’ve done that to implement input buttons for PC’s used in production line applications to significantly reduce the need for mouse and keyboard input. (RI can also be used. I think DCD/RLSD should also work though I haven’t used it).",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390452",
"author": "Matt",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T14:00:01",
"content": "Replace the switch with a pot, or sone sort of sensor to detect how far the pedal is being pushed down. You could then map it to do heaps of different functions. You could make it zoom in and out of the application you are in – photoshop or gimp comes to mind, when you want to zoom in for short periods of time.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390484",
"author": "bkovac",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T14:35:02",
"content": "Well this was the first try, i haven got any keyboards or keyboard interfaces :( left :(, and for these signals, well I forgot about them and they aren’t on my homemade USB to serial converter.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390490",
"author": "Aaron",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T14:45:13",
"content": "Y’all with the idea to do it in a serial port: meh. No good for modern laptops, for a start, unless you’ve got a USB-to-serial converter lying around or $30 to buy one — talk about overdoing things, I’d say that’s a good example of it.Actually, thinking about it, the first thing I’d do to improve the pedal would be to stick a 1/8″ mono TRS plug on the end of the cable, then build all the smarts into a little box with a 1/8″ mono TRS jack on one side. That way, if I come up with another bright idea that needs a pedal a week from now, I can just trade back and forth. I can also replace the pedal with another kind of SPST switch, too, either for prototyping or if I decide a different kind of switch would work better for a particular task.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390495",
"author": "ProfP",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T15:09:29",
"content": "@Aaron – you did RTFA didn’t you – he has got a serial port. If he didn’t have a serial port, an nice arduino free alternative would have been to use a 555 wired as an astable multivibrator to generate a tone into the sound card, and intercept that. Or bit bang a single character into the homebrew USB-serial adapter using hardwired logic for each press if handshaking really isn’t an option. Either way, introducing a microcontroller to pass simple switch info is a sledgehammer to crack a hack and whilst admirable as a project, a bit lacking in ingenuity.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390510",
"author": "MattQ",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T15:52:11",
"content": "I love this. I love the idea of using the foot more on a computer. Mine just tap the foot of my desk idly while I work. I would love to see a three pedal version, done with driving pedals. The clutch could switch desktops or windows, the accelerator would bring up more terminal windows, and the brake could be configured for whatever. If I had some free time, I would totally do this!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390514",
"author": "jeff",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T15:59:28",
"content": "Combine it with an eye-tracker; when you tap on the peddle, whatever window you’re looking at gets brought to the front. Hold the pedal down for a moment longer than a tap, front-most window goes to back. No more alt-tab shuffle when you have a bunch of stuff going on!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390515",
"author": "msc",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T16:00:11",
"content": "@AndrewIt wouldn’t have been featured on HAD if it didn’t have an arduino.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390519",
"author": "fartface",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T16:11:52",
"content": "“Key re-mapping / macro software can be used too.What’s the advantage of doing it this way?!”ADHD person looking for a distraction… This is too easy to click on a icon…. Hey I’ll spend 6 hours dinking around to do it with my foot….Look! I’m saving time! I saved 65,534 clicks! the pedal will pay it’s self back in time in 543 years!VERY Useful for a foot pedal auto hide the web browser when the boss comes around the corner, launching a terminal window? Kinda silly.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390527",
"author": "Aaron",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T16:31:13",
"content": "@ProfP: I did not RTFA closely enough; I see he does have a serial port. Still, I can see some possible benefits to the presence of an MCU, especially if you want to do more with the switch later, like sending a different keypress on press-and-hold.(On the other hand, I’d just stick the MCU in by itself, rather than the whole prototyping board. What’s an Arduino cost, like thirty bucks?)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390533",
"author": "Anonymous",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T16:50:18",
"content": "“open up a terminal console and cd to the location of the foot_pedal.py file. And type python foot_pedal.py”What.Yo dawg, I herd you lieked opening terminals, so I put a foot pedal on yo terminal, so you can open terminals.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390566",
"author": "phisrow",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T18:10:11",
"content": "A move to a Teensy would, arguably, have considerable advantages besides those of size: Since the Teensy is a direct USB device, not a USB-serial-converter, you can configure it to directly act as a USB HID device, and generate arbitrary keystrokes. Boom. Works without any software(aside from a HID keyboard driver, which everything has). Want more buttons, or macros, or something? it has enough I/O and onboard memory to allow all sorts of individual keys, or keystroke sequences, to be stored and played back in response to environmental inputs.Honestly, I’m a bit surprised that the availability of the Teensy(and cheap stomp-pedal boxes) hasn’t more or less murdered the horribly overpriced specialty assistive devices for foot control niche…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390575",
"author": "Mark O'Malley",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T18:24:42",
"content": "There were, years ago, foot pedals marketed as shift key alternatives. Don’t know if that remains the case. Seems to me this would be much more useful for a single command foot switch.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390581",
"author": "Squirrel",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T18:38:13",
"content": "Guake ftw",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390599",
"author": "abobymouse",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T19:30:13",
"content": "Someone needs to trawl through hack-a-day and tag any project that could be used for accessibilities – or set up some open source accessible hardware website.this stuff costs a fortune from regular suppliers.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390605",
"author": "Mark O'Malley",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T19:42:27",
"content": "@abobymouse – I suspect that this is the case due to the fact that with many with accessibility needs, the equipment cost is being paid by an insurance or gov’t entity. There is very likely a market here for a low-cost supplier, if anybody is looking for a way to make a buck. Produce a polished prototype, contact some of the larger insurers, and you’re making moolah.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390621",
"author": "twopartepoxy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T20:41:07",
"content": "i like this. simple, but thats good. how about one for each foot (or even each toe?), an eye tracker, then get something that you can control with mouth/tongue movements and/or responds to simple sounds/grunts. maybe even throw in a brain/eeg gizmo. you might look a bit odd using it but no odder than somebody talking into a handsfree mobile phone mic whilst walking down the street.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390628",
"author": "Gavin",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T21:12:24",
"content": "You can configure the Stealth Switch or Stealth Switch 2 to do whatever you want, and they are only about $40.You can also add four more foot pedals (or other types of 3.5mm mono plug switches) to the Stealth Switch 2. I have one sitting on my desk right now.http://www.stealthswitch2.com/http://www.amazon.com/lmt-USBSTEALTH-USB-Stealth-Switch/dp/B000BKQBIO",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390638",
"author": "Kris",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T21:25:41",
"content": "I did this years ago by cutting up a $10 usb gamepad and wiring up the buttons to 1/4″ mic jack. Then I bought a bunch of cheap guitar pedals (which have 1/4″ male mic plugs) and they plug right in. Then I used a key mapper to map the button presses to keystrokes. I used to use it in WoW to control multi-boxing. I thought about selling the idea, but now Logitech has a USB foot-pedal for like $30.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390683",
"author": "ewanuno",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T23:26:13",
"content": "wouldn’t it be much simpler to just use a usb joystick?just hack up one old game controler, solder up a switch. and make a simple glovepie script?then you could use that arduino for something more interesting.the arduino is a fantastic thing,it irks me to see it used for such simple ‘hacks’.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390687",
"author": "veneficus",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T23:35:35",
"content": "I used 4 STAPLES buttons and modified them as foot pedals and used them withx-keys macro keyboardin the past to automate repetitive keystrokes. However the STAPLES buttons are not that sturdy and eventually need carbon on their pads to function again. If you do repetitive tasks on the keyboard I recommend the x-keys keyboards, you can create a macro on the fly with ease as it records as you type. I found it easier to operate thanAutoHotKey.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390693",
"author": "doubleup",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T23:47:04",
"content": "For those who complain about using too much of a microcontroller for such a simple project, just envision a post-apocalyptic scenario. These things could be everywhere, with re-programmable hardware.. I like the idea, maybe I’ll start over-engineering everything.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390694",
"author": "kyrannian",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T23:48:13",
"content": "Seems like the perfect tool to use as your spacebar. I’m constantly using that key, and as an added bonus you could put on some music and type to it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390833",
"author": "echodelta",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T07:39:13",
"content": "If you play piano etc you need the sustain pedal. Three pedals are standard for a grand.For starts backspace and forespace and maybe enter. would make typing and browsing easier. Since I don’t dwino, cheap usb and 2 or 3 switches. Before I do that I have a slim 25 note pedal-board to wire up to a keyboard so I can pedal a soft-synth like ZynAdd. Simple and standalone, separate output from the main sounds.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390950",
"author": "GB",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T15:32:55",
"content": "Step-by-step with photos:http://www.genovation.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2113",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390955",
"author": "hexagon5un",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T16:06:10",
"content": "I’ve built more than a few USB peripherals with an AVR Tiny45 and the VUSB firmware. That’s the way I’d go.Slightly modify the code from e.g.http://hackaday.com/2008/04/01/random-usb-caps-locker/to open up a terminal when the switch is closed and you’re done.Total cost < $2.00. Bam!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390962",
"author": "Antony Van der Mude",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T16:20:37",
"content": "Well, to take this to its logical conclusion, take an old pipe organ, replace the keyboard with (one or more) computer keyboards and go to town! You’d have at least a couple of dozen foot pedals, and you could use all those knobs (stops) for extra control (What do you get when you press Shift-Ctrl-Alt-Gemshorn-Doublette-Bourdon C?)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391037",
"author": "nightHawk",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T20:30:07",
"content": "Heck, why not go ALL the way and strap a couple mice to your feet!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391540",
"author": "twall",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T11:31:59",
"content": "or even better: put your smartphone on the floor and send each tap of your right pinky toe via bluetooth to your laptop!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "427532",
"author": "Sean",
"timestamp": "2011-08-02T22:14:17",
"content": "FYI, the best product out there in terms of programmability and flexibility is theFragpedal. As Aaron suggested, it could be configured to switch windows on a tap, and do something else on a hold — say, Show Desktop.It supports different actions on press/release and on tap/press/hold (with configurable timing thresholds), so it’s very hacker friendly.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,196.80141
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/05/awesome-fan-powered-frankenscooter/
|
Awesome Fan-powered Frankenscooter
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Transportation Hacks"
] |
[
"batteries",
"cool",
"fan",
"ridiculous",
"scooter"
] |
We believe that some of the best things in life are built from half-assed ideas and held together with duct tape. Take
this fan-powered Razor scooter [Charles Guan] built, for example
– it’s chock full of both.
Having built a ducted fan-powered shopping cart in the past
[Charles] is no stranger to ridiculous ideas. After a friend sent him a mockup of a fan powered scooter, he felt that he couldn’t “…take such an absurd image not seriously.”
Determined to make his fan-powered dreams a reality, he hunted around for Razor scooter parts, and managed to scavenge just about everything he needed. Parts of three scooters were welded together, forming the wide-stanced trike you see in the picture above. He mounted a fan and some battery packs onto the scooter, both similar to those found on his Fankart. Once everything was in place, he hit the streets.
As you can see in the video below, the Fanscooter looks as fun as it is loud. [Charles] says they have hit a top speed of about 10 mph thus far, but they should be able to blow past that once they balance the blades and have a
victim
tester willing to suspend his babymakers over the fan duct. Keep your eyes on his site, we’re sure to see some tweaks and improvements over the coming weeks.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRZ5vBX2QNc&w=470]
| 22
| 21
|
[
{
"comment_id": "390377",
"author": "damox",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T11:18:34",
"content": "LOL.The thing doesn’t turn – built for straight lines.Can we put in requests for the next iteration?I suggest rollerblades.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390379",
"author": "qwerty",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T11:27:08",
"content": "LOL! No brakes at all, and the police car didn’t even care to stop.You can make the thing much more quiet by carefully choosing the right propeller.This will always be a ton less efficient than a wheeled cart, but has its uses. A floating one for next summer for example, but keep both eyes on salt water insulation because it would kill the electronics in no time.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390381",
"author": "elektrophreak",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T11:39:06",
"content": "now THAT is just crazy!:-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390390",
"author": "wbbigdave",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T12:10:58",
"content": "Best line ever at the end“thats duck tape burning” YESSSSSSSSSS! Everyone needs duck (duct?) tape.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390406",
"author": "Ratty",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T12:52:05",
"content": "Well, I’ve never heard anyone refer to their chaps as “babymakers”, I thought that euphemism was reserved for the opposite gender’s vulnerables.Looks fun, if a bit hard to steer because of how stable it is.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390433",
"author": "Brennan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T13:25:28",
"content": "@wbbigdaveYes, it is spelled and pronounced “duct” tape, it just sounds like “duck tape” when people are too lazy to pronounce the double “T” sound.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "390481",
"author": "Caleb Kraft",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T14:21:28",
"content": "@Brennan,Common misconseption. Both are correct. Check out the Etymology section of the Wikipedia page. Apparently it started as “duck” then evolved to “duct” then back again and back and forth forever.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duct_tape",
"parent_id": "390433",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "390435",
"author": "darkarmyofone",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T13:31:56",
"content": "Oh yes, babymakers are the two veg to go with your meat lol.In all seriousness that is hillarious. some police work though huh lol! he didnt even stop! i lol’ed hard at that part. god forbid that fan goes crazy and someones “plate” will only have meat left… possibly nothing.Awsome build though, super fun i bet.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390451",
"author": "Bill",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T13:59:48",
"content": "Well, there is actually a Duck brand tape…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390454",
"author": "mikelist",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T14:00:46",
"content": "@brennan – some people ax too many questions.i saw a show on tv some time ago that claimed that duct tape was good for everything except what it was meant to do, seal ducts. my dad did some pretty ridiculous body work on a vw microbus with duct tape.it looked stupid for a very long time, though.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390457",
"author": "AdoZ",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T14:03:04",
"content": "Bah, this [Charles] character is obviously just a fanboy.;-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390463",
"author": "Drake",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T14:08:41",
"content": "hmm what about converting it to a two stroke engine … may get better range with it …",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390479",
"author": "G",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T14:20:25",
"content": "Not sure why people are saying it can’t turn when he navigates 3 90-degree turns in the video… by LEANING… maybe it can’t turn sharply but it can turn.Also not sure why the LOL that the cop car didn’t stop. Using a fan in public = not illegal. Going 10 mph on a scooter = not illegal. Operating it in the middle of the road, maybe an issue, but all in all not enough to really concern a police officer. If he DID stop I would have thought he was being a dick. But I guess kids like to feel like they’re a lot more anti-establishment than they really are so go ahead and LOL that the cops weren’t concerned about your scooter… :S",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390488",
"author": "Volectorus",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T14:40:20",
"content": "Guy Driving it was too scared to turn corners at any significant speed. i would bet that it would be quite stable.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390506",
"author": "Aleks Clark",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T15:37:43",
"content": "wow that’s crazy inventive. I can’t possibly imagine anyone could come up with anything more along these lines. I mean there’s obviously not many options for strapping a ducted fan to something with wheels on it….the mind boggles.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390511",
"author": "willcrack",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T15:52:45",
"content": "Great job on the big hole through the aluminum fan mounting plate. But.. that little aluminum tab is all that holds the fan to the scooter? Really? That seems doomed to crack over time, with so much force concentrated at the root.It would have been better if the base plate ran the entire width of the fan. It wouldn’t add much weight, especially with some cool looking lightening holes bored.But then again, maybe you want the entire fan and battery assembly to blow clear in a crash :P",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390564",
"author": "Hirudinea",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T18:07:08",
"content": "Cool, not only will it get you where your going (if its in a straight line) it’ll keep your sperm count up as well!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390586",
"author": "G",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T18:53:58",
"content": "It turns, for pete’s sake…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390620",
"author": "Gregory Owen",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T20:40:36",
"content": "it needs a thrust-cone on the back of it, the output needs to be 80% of the FSA and he’ll get quite a bit more thrust.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390736",
"author": "B",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T01:49:58",
"content": "Love how ignorant people are and making fun of something that CLEARLY wasn’t meant to be serious.For one it takes turns like any other scooter (turning the bar, what did you guys think? o.o) and second it has brakes, one on each side.Give the guy a break",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391103",
"author": "Bob",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T23:43:18",
"content": "Congratulations MacGyver for appearing on hackaday :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391155",
"author": "Randall Colvin",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T04:06:55",
"content": "Ok just an ideaTurn it around and add a sail and maybe a sled?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,197.383825
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/04/applecrate-ii-doubles-the-cluster-computing-fun/
|
AppleCrate II Doubles The Cluster Computing Fun
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Mac Hacks"
] |
[
"apple iie",
"applecrate",
"cluster computing",
"mac"
] |
Back in 2004, Apple hobbyist/guru [Michael Mahon] built a cluster of Apple
IIe
main boards dubbed the “AppleCrate” as an experiment in parallel computing. Now that a few years have passed,
he is back with a new iteration of the device, aptly named AppleCrate II
.
AppleCrate II was built to address some of the design limits
of his first cluster project
as well as to expand his parallel computing capabilities. His gripes with the first model were primarily structural in nature. The new system is organized in horizontal layers, using metal standoffs between each main board, rather than relying on a shaky wooden superstructure to keep things together. He also found his previous 8-processor configuration a bit limiting, so the AppleCrate II has 17 nodes – 16 slaves and one main board dedicated to running the operation. The cluster even uses his own homebrew networking stack known as NadaNet to enable communications between the boards.
The project is pretty impressive, so be sure to swing by his site if you want to learn more. He has a ton of technical details there, as well as copies of all of the software he used to get the cluster up and running.
[via
BoingBoing
]
| 32
| 30
|
[
{
"comment_id": "390138",
"author": "Tim",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T22:45:16",
"content": "Holy F**king Sh*t",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390141",
"author": "Limey",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T22:59:01",
"content": "Really surprised one of the threads on the PCB spacers didn’t shear due to the weight of all those boards, that’s insane! :O",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390155",
"author": "curiosity",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T23:37:49",
"content": "i would really love to see the interfacing between all the boards. power, keyboard, video, etc…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390156",
"author": "Rob",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T23:42:42",
"content": "I’m stunned the Apple II boards are still working. We chucked out a pile of them 4 years ago, all faulty. Now we have intel Macs so they’ll probably go the same way soon ;-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "390557",
"author": "geekdude",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T17:52:38",
"content": "Im my expirence motherboards allmost never fail. Its usualy harddrives that generate problems. And computers allmost never stop working from sitting in your closet colllecting dust.",
"parent_id": "390156",
"depth": 2,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "7672421",
"author": "cuvtixo",
"timestamp": "2024-08-26T18:58:15",
"content": "Is it okay to comment over 12 years later? -the irony hits after seeing leak after leak from batteries and electrolytic capacitors, over the past ten years alone. I’m afraid it’s all too common to have motherboards fail sitting in a closet or attic, gathering dust. If I can save just one, notifying another person searching through all these old posts about Apple II, it will be worth it!",
"parent_id": "390557",
"depth": 3,
"replies": []
}
]
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "390170",
"author": "TheCreator",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T00:25:54",
"content": "That is pretty impressive.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390171",
"author": "Kittredge",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T00:26:08",
"content": "I’m not surprised they’re still working. The Apple IIe board was designed for reliability, with a very low chip count compared to the Apple II and II+. It’s one of the most durable computers I’ve ever seen. Perfect for the hammering fingers of schoolchildren… :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390175",
"author": "steve",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T00:38:17",
"content": "i wonder how well something like this could could work with apple IIc motherboards using the serial interface.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390177",
"author": "Gaige",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T00:45:33",
"content": "I see no apples!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390178",
"author": "adam felson",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T00:48:07",
"content": "apple ][‘s? You’d need two hundred of them to equal the computing horsepower of a cellphone.I was hoping to see a stack of 1U server motherboards. Those would have had 2000 times the performance of the ancient apple boards.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390210",
"author": "mjrippe",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T02:49:05",
"content": "Could this be done with the Commodore 64? You could make a monster synthesizer with all those SID chips!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390235",
"author": "grenadier",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T04:02:48",
"content": "Holy crap!So now everyone needs to know, can it run DOOM?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390238",
"author": "rallen71366",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T04:17:19",
"content": "@mjrippe – I met some hackers in the late ’80s that set up a primitive C64 cluster of 8 systems IIRC. They built their own game cartridges with a turbo CPU, more RAM, custom ROM, and multiple serial connections. Very few hacks have impressed me as much, since then.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390252",
"author": "fghsgfhsdf",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T05:18:57",
"content": "Well… I am the only who think this isa massive waste of time and…to call this an experiment… It would have been one 30 years ago but now…?Nostalgia FTW!!!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390265",
"author": "lanny",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T06:35:15",
"content": "This won’t be even as powerful as your smartphone",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390316",
"author": "Paul Potter",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T09:04:16",
"content": "That is amazing.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390370",
"author": "Airton Granero",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T11:06:37",
"content": "Where did he find 17 Apple IIe boards?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390417",
"author": "Ron Proctor",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T13:09:54",
"content": "No Xserve? No problem.:D",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390423",
"author": "LordNT",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T13:15:52",
"content": "I would like to see this project merged with the Apple II Weather Display! Would be leaps and bounds faster updating!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390446",
"author": "Matt",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T13:53:10",
"content": "Where did he put the arduino?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390464",
"author": "lwatcdr",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T14:10:19",
"content": "To the haters get over it. There are people that enjoy building hotrods using Ford Flatheads even today and other that race old Honda 350s from the 70s. It doesn’t matter that even that new stuff is faster they enjoy it. The creator has also built a pretty neat, cheap networking system for them. Too bad it will not work on the IIc but it is still pretty neat. And interesting project for someone would be too create an AVR or pic based USB or Ethernet to Nadanet bridge. Then you could use a cheap PC to act as a file server for the Apple Crate. This poor guy. His project already made slashdot and now this. As to the stand-off shearing. Yea I sure wouldn’t twist that stack.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390559",
"author": "geekdude",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T17:59:14",
"content": "Call me crazy but i like the 8 node version of the song better. But then again I like chiptunes and stuff. I bet you could make some intresting synth music with one of these.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390560",
"author": "mjmahon",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T17:59:46",
"content": "You are correct, this is a conceptual experiment, not my attempt to break any speed records. It presents the user with all the asynchrony and communication/computation tradeoffs of any cluster, and does so at an almost human-visible speed and in the very accessible environment of Applesoft BASIC–a language that is perfect for few-page programs that do interesting things.I have provided NadaNet with a File Server–typically an Apple //e with a hard disk (now actually a CF card).It’s challenging and rewarding to see how much can be done under severe resource constraints–something that few programmers get to experience in these days of gigabytes and gigahertz. ;-)Apple dropped the digital “annunciator” outputs from the Apple //c, so it would require a special and inelegant implementation of NadaNet to support that model. The same version of NadaNet works across all other models.As to mechanical strength, it’s as solid as a rock. Each standoff is torqued to a moderate level, and there are nine “columns” of standoffs,six metal and three nylon (in the interior).All of this detail, including all the software and hardware construction is detailed in the web articles–all you have to do is read them. ;-)-michael",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390629",
"author": "Adam",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T21:12:26",
"content": "I smell law suit! Steve isn’t going to like him using apple hardware the way he wants. :P",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390684",
"author": "Chris",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T23:26:49",
"content": "This isn’t a serious experiment in constrained parallel systems. MCUs would have been better in every aspect for that.This is only art at best, and a fancy space heater at worst.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390711",
"author": "mjmahon",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T00:38:41",
"content": "“Serious experiment”? Hmmm. Well I didn’t do it for a government grant or my doctoral thesis, but it was undertaken with “serious” intent to learn something and have some fun with my favorite hobbyist computer, and it achieved its goals!Several parallel examples and performance studies are included in the documentation.It took less than two pages of Applesoft code to implement a complete peer-to-peer instant messaging system for NadaNet-connected Apple II machines, so the environment is pretty capable and quite productive.As for space heater, RTFM! The whole stack consumes less than 75 watts–or about what the 12″ monitor does! ;-)-michael",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390815",
"author": "Mattster",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T06:23:24",
"content": "The Hacker Haters ball is on today. In this corner is Hacknasty who hates anything called a hack unless it uses electronic components with date codes older than 1985.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390998",
"author": "S734L7H",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T18:07:49",
"content": "@ lwatcdrHotrods using old Ford Flatheads are still fast compared to consumer cars nowadays. Apple II computers are not. Thats why people feel its a waste of time. Good hack for 30 years ago, but not nowadays. You can make a car with an old Ford flathead go over 100mph and keep up with the mainstream cars of today. You can’t make a cluster of 1000 Apple II boards come close to the computing power of a mainstream pc of today.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391111",
"author": "felipe nunez",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T00:33:26",
"content": "I wounder what apple would think =/but cool",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391117",
"author": "J Harton",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T00:45:32",
"content": "A hack is still a hack. It may not be using the latest things, but is no less a hack for it. Those computers were never intended for such things by any stretch of the imagination.@S734L7H Well, if there wasn’t any overhead in parallel computing and we hadn’t made advancements in a lot more things than sheer speed then a 1000 stack of apple IIs with parallel computer might be able to perform at a high fraction of 1GHz in terms of processing power. Besides, if we did the video display with the main system cpu too, we wouldn’t have nearly as much free cpu time.Frankly I feel that programmers (especially game dev) today have not been too forced to concern themselves with squeezing as much performance out of the system as possible. After all, every 2nd generation of games or even 1 generation change requires a new graphics card these days.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393376",
"author": "Solo2450",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T16:09:31",
"content": "I enjoy looking at these types of projects. For those that do not consider this an experiment you may want to take a look at a dictionary some time…I still have a 1989 IBM XT computer with a 20Mb HDD that weighs almost 20LB, lol. I still experiment with that :-P It’s good to know where we have been and what can be done with old tech. before you go thinking you are hot stuff because you bought a Dell.c:>deltree c:\\haters",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,197.008263
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/04/analog-projection-clock-so-simple-you-should-have-thought-of-it/
|
Analog Projection Clock So Simple You Should Have Thought Of It
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"clock hacks"
] |
[
"analog",
"mirror",
"projection",
"silvering"
] |
The image you see above is the result of a simple analog projection clock. It shows the time on the ceiling. We have one in our bedroom but it’s a red digital display which we don’t think is nearly as fun as this clever hack. Grab a cheap analog clock, a mirror, and a white LED and
you can build your own
.
The mirror is going to reflect light from the LED onto a ceiling or other surface. It acts as the clock face. The tick marks for each hour were made by scratching the reflective material (often called the
silvering
) from the back of the mirror. A hole is drilled at the center of the class and the analog clock is mounted with its hands on the business side. The one problem with this setup is that since the light is being reflected, the clock will appear to run backwards. Not a problem, if you just reverse the polarity of the coil which moves the clockwork the projection will move in the expected clockwise direction.
[via
Make
]
| 29
| 27
|
[
{
"comment_id": "390104",
"author": "ZeroCool42",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T21:28:08",
"content": "Yep, my first reaction when I saw this on Make the other day was “Why did I think of that???”",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390106",
"author": "ZeroCool42",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T21:28:32",
"content": "didn’t*FAIL :(",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390110",
"author": "Hirudinea",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T21:34:09",
"content": "I like it, this could be adapter to all sorts of projection clocks, I’ed like to see what you could do with this technique and a search light! It’ BATTIME!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390112",
"author": "M4CGYV3R",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T21:48:53",
"content": "I had one of these that was made as a promo for Budweiser or some such company. It had their logo at the bottom of the mirror, and the top half was an analog clock. When the sun would hit it in the afternoon, it would move a working clock projection across the floor. The backward part of the effect wasn’t that noticeable when we only glanced at it once every few hours.So while I didn’t think of it first, someone clearly did.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390115",
"author": "neorazz",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T21:51:31",
"content": "what if you used the same method but cut card stock for the numbers and hand 2 wheels one stationary one mobile that would line up to the correct time as it rotated then projecting digital time while still fully analog if you wanted to go digital do the same thing but bounce the light thru a nokia type lcd with the backlight taken off like the lumenlab projectors",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390124",
"author": "MS3FGX",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T22:09:28",
"content": "Very clever, my brother has been asking me about doing a projection clock for him, I’ll have to send this along.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390127",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T22:19:39",
"content": "Great read. Great project.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390139",
"author": "mad_max",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T22:51:22",
"content": "I like how you said “we” have a projection clock in “our” bedroom. Because apparently all the HaD writers bunk together.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390150",
"author": "zrzzz",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T23:26:46",
"content": "At first, I thought “What?! that’s going to be backwards” But then I read the part about “reversing the polarity of the coil”.I don’t know if that’s going to work. But maybe you could use 2 mirrors or even a lens to invert the image.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390151",
"author": "wernicke",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T23:29:16",
"content": "@neorazz,Huh? I’ve got no idea what you’re describing. Punctuation is your friend. (or should be)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390168",
"author": "Garreth",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T00:11:01",
"content": "Wouldnt you need to read the clock mirrored? wouldnt the reflection go counterclockwise?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390184",
"author": "dbear",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T01:07:00",
"content": "Thats cool but the extralight from the led would make the room too bright. Maybe some type shroud around the unit that would keep the extra light from going any way but up. A box with black plexi sides and a clear top should work great.Great hack.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390211",
"author": "Renee",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T02:50:13",
"content": "Woah, hold on! Reversing the polarity actually WORKS? My life has changed fundamentally.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390256",
"author": "SteveO",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T05:33:50",
"content": "better option – put a laser diode on each hand with a linear prism (idk the term… the thing that makes a laser level line…) to create each hand of the clock. then simply add 4 lasers for the time markers at 3, 6, 9, and 12.no crazy amount of light bleed in the room, no huge white square on the ceiling, and even the reversing issue can be fixed by simply flipping the clock over and mounting the lasers to the underside of the hands.mount it all to a piece of plexy and done. no focusing required, and you could shoot it at the side of a building in full daylight.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "390263",
"author": "Max",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T06:19:53",
"content": "Er, Steve this was about a simple clock.So in your making it “better” we now need to consider how to get power to the lasers. Probably by a slip ring which adds resistance to the hand movement. Also your lasers add weight to the hands so on the “down” side the clock could run fast and on the “up” side run slow. Even if you keep it flat all the extra load of lasers and slip rings mean you might burn out the coil or at least need to recalibrate the whole thing. That may be a problem if it’s upright as well.Not really so simple now is it.",
"parent_id": "390256",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "390273",
"author": "Frogz",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T06:52:15",
"content": "holy crap….i personally use the rear projection method, bright led behind a lcd clock with reversed polariser so it has white on black text",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390280",
"author": "SteveO",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T07:17:20",
"content": "I will admit my solution is not simple… but I can solve the problem of the huge white square. instead of mirrors for the face, mirror just the hands and the numbers.fastest way is chrome spray paint. if you have everything else black, you will considerably reduce ambient light output.another way to reduce ambient light – and probably the best solution overall while remaining simple, mounting a mechanism inside a telescope style setup with the LED behind it would give this same effect but would allow the LED to be concealed.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390346",
"author": "Whatnot",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T10:20:39",
"content": "I like projects with some sort of optics, and while not interested in a clock (and especially an analog one) this does give some ideas.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390383",
"author": "fartface",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T11:46:58",
"content": "Not only did I think of it first, but so did someone else from 1920.http://www.clock-museum.co.uk/c111.htmAs a note: it would have been a whole lot better if the clock was painted black and they had cut mirrors to fit the hands and “ticks”.. Most people are not a fan of having a lot of light in the bedroom at night.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "2711457",
"author": "Rjg",
"timestamp": "2015-09-12T10:33:20",
"content": "Just use a bigger resistor for the LED or PWM the power to it to lower the brightness to it -there! No more “too much light in the bedroom.”",
"parent_id": "390383",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "390387",
"author": "holly_smoke",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T12:07:56",
"content": "@SteveOI’m not sure that chrome spray paint would be reflective enough to work effectively.If you want to invert the display (dark background, light hands), the best method would be to cut new hands from a thin mirror and mount these on the existing assembly.Or you could simply mount small circles of mirror on the ends of the existing hands, to keep the amount of light to a minimum.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390480",
"author": "none",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T14:21:14",
"content": "@SteveO & holly_smokeIs not as easy as it seems. You would need a very good alignment of all the little mirrors, specially the hands. Not to mention that these coils were designed to drag a very light piece of plastic, not a mirror.It’s a very good hack because of the simplicity.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390542",
"author": "neorazz",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T17:18:00",
"content": "ok let me try again cut out the black bits like this example for the hourshttp://freesvgfiles.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Arabic+Plain+Clock+Face.jpgand this example for minuteshttp://www.timercentral.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/best-kitchen-timer-Cook-Rite-60-Minute-Quartz-Timer-91030-2.jpgwould probably have to be laser cut (mirror image?)then use them as the hands on the clock .offset the center of the face so the cut out parts match a shroud at the same time as the back-lightlight shines thru cutout of current time making a projection on the ceiling without a mirror or fiddling with reversing the clockworks",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390545",
"author": "neorazz",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T17:19:20",
"content": "then only the time is projected and your light intensity could be greater",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390574",
"author": "bothersaidpooh",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T18:23:54",
"content": "I saw some high reflectivity paint at B&Q the other day, maybe someone can try that?Also did the reverse clock hack, it works on analogue watches too.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390578",
"author": "filespace",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T18:35:24",
"content": "i think some spray adhesive and mylar film would do the trick for the hands… and fixed cut lexan mirrors for the markings/numbers on the face.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390579",
"author": "filespace",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T18:36:49",
"content": "also…. a unfocused laser would work and possible a 4 inch shield around the clock with everything but the mirrors painted black..",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390601",
"author": "Whatnot",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T19:34:03",
"content": "uhm mylar? chrome paint?http://www.apetape.co.uk/media/gbu0/prodlg/aluminium-foil-tape.jpgavailable everywhere, and universally handy to have in the cupboard.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "431148",
"author": "plumeau",
"timestamp": "2011-08-09T12:42:13",
"content": "just put in another miror and you have it running foward!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,197.122096
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/16/adding-ethernet-control-for-a-5-1-speaker-set/
|
Adding Ethernet Control For A 5.1 Speaker Set
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"digital audio hacks",
"Microcontrollers"
] |
[
"ATmega168",
"enc28j60",
"mains",
"outlet",
"RF",
"speakers"
] |
[HuB’s] set of 5.1 surround sound speakers was gobbling up a bunch of electricity when in standby as evidenced by the 50 Hz hum coming from the sub-woofer and the burning hot heat sink on the power supply. He wanted to add a way to
automatically control the systems and offer the new feature of disconnecting the power from the mains
.
The first part was not too hard, although he used a roundabout method of prototyping. He planned to use the IR receiver on the speakers to control them. At the time, [HuB] didn’t have an oscilloscope on hand that he could use to capture the IR protocol so he ended up using Audacity (the open source audio editing suite) to capture signals connected to the input of a sound card. He used this to establish the timing and encoding that he needed for all eight buttons on the original remote control.
Next, he grabbed a board that he built using an ATmega168 and an ENC28J60 Ethernet chip. This allows you to send commands via the Internet which are then translated into the appropriate IR signals to control the speakers and a few other devices in the room. The last piece of the puzzle was to wrap an RF controlled outlet into the project with lets him cut mains power to the speakers when not in use. You can see the video demonstration embedded after the break.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Coa74-hGV-Q&w=470]
| 12
| 11
|
[
{
"comment_id": "394942",
"author": "lwatcdr",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T21:17:38",
"content": "Might I suggest a power strip? You turn off the power strip when you do not have the speakers hooked up to your laptop.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394943",
"author": "LinuxBoi",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T21:19:31",
"content": "Genius use of audacity!!!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394958",
"author": "Chris",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T21:41:59",
"content": "lol… wow, talk about taking the long way home! Hope it was fun!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395018",
"author": "ducky",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T00:24:29",
"content": "“50 Hz hum coming from the sub-woofer and the burning hot heat sink on the power supply.”Sounds more like his sub is broken, there should be no hum and when not in use the heatsink should be cold.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395054",
"author": "tjb",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T03:09:59",
"content": "I agree ducky. The sub amp is bad or the cabling feeding it is bad.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395154",
"author": "jc",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T10:08:51",
"content": "I have a different version of Genius 5.1 home theatre (very similar) and in standby, it’s absolutely cold and silent. I think something may be wrong with his.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395156",
"author": "jc",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T10:10:15",
"content": "Oh, also, cheers to a fellow Czech ! Small world.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395161",
"author": "HuB",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T10:37:00",
"content": "Let me explain some more details. There’s no warm heatsink but the transformer is heating a lot in a stand-by. That’s typical for devices without switching power supply. That hum is coming from that transformer because is really big one, no one can really hear that, but I’m too sensitive when I go sleep, so it annoys me a little.But the point of project it’s not control just the speaker but I can control any device/light with remote plugs and send IR signals to TV etc..",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395166",
"author": "person",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T11:12:51",
"content": "I have one a set of a similar type. Here is the service manual with inside schematics if anyone would need ithttp://www.scribd.com/doc/55612711/GENIUS-SW-HF-5-1-5000-RAR-MOJE. I was fixing it few weeks back. It got a 230V hit into the input line and all I needed to replace is the first input switching IC that was in the way at the cost of $2. I am also interested in the IR protocol codes as I dont have the remote anymore.PS: another greetings from the czech rep.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "447028",
"author": "fromczech",
"timestamp": "2011-09-03T09:57:28",
"content": "I am interested to fix the noise from 230v, can you explain more concrete what input IC you have replaced, to fix it?",
"parent_id": "395166",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "395177",
"author": "dade",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T11:35:04",
"content": "is the mafia 2 soundtrack :O ^^",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395234",
"author": "blue carbuncle",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T14:55:45",
"content": "with lwat on this one. Either find a power strip with a switch and so forth or a lamp style cord has switch built in and can be found at hardware stores cheap. Also useful are the remote AC outlets. You plug it in, plug in the device and ya get a nice lil fob thingy to control it with and tape to your main remote. see here:http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=remote+control+120v+outlet&hl=en&prmd=ivns&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=9668350966394341543&sa=X&ei=z4vSTbqhH4XWgQfm-MHMCw&ved=0CHQQ8wIwAg&biw=1024&bih=614#I was lucky enough to find one in a thrift store bin for 50c :) Works great!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,197.058233
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/16/ollie-the-socially-awkward-autonomous-blimp/
|
Ollie The Socially Awkward Autonomous Blimp
|
Brian Benchoff
|
[
"Robots Hacks"
] |
[
"blimp",
"flying",
"robot"
] |
[Pritika] is a user experience design student who just finished up an
autonomous blimp
project designed to react to voices and communicate, “his friendliness and eagerness to be noticed.”
The
instructable
[Pritika] posted goes through the build – a 850mAh LiPo battery powers an Arduino Pro Mini, which controls two 3.6 gram servos. While not much in the way of electronics, the real beauty behind this build is the implementation. From watching the video of Ollie interacting with people, we’re pretty sure [Pritika] met her objective of making her pet blimp friendly and unobtrusive.
With
quadrocopters
getting
so
much
attention
as of late, it’s interesting to see development in lighter-than-air robotics. Our back of the envelope math (which is almost certainly wrong) tells us that Ollie’s ‘body’ can lift 60 grams when filled with Helium, and double that with Hydrogen. While this isn’t much lifting capacity, it’s not inconceivable that a slightly larger blimp could have more sensors or a live video feed, especially considering the
16 gram ornithopter
we covered last year.
Check out a video of Ollie after the jump.
[vimeo
http://vimeo.com/23383025%5D
| 15
| 15
|
[
{
"comment_id": "394883",
"author": "cde",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T19:55:42",
"content": "Being a bag of hot air is as socially awkward as you can be.Oh wait, being a hindenburg accident waiting to happen is even more so.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394889",
"author": "mkeblx",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T20:06:21",
"content": "Cool project.That ‘double [the lift] with hydrogen’ bit didn’t ring true. Hydrogen is half the density of helium but the lift generated is about the density difference between the lifting gas and air.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifting_gas#Hydrogen_versus_helium",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394926",
"author": "NishaKitty",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T20:58:47",
"content": "Really like this project it even hits my soft spot I feel like hugging the thingy.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394953",
"author": "Anju",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T21:35:46",
"content": "I love Ollie!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394960",
"author": "HackJack",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T21:46:05",
"content": "How does it keep afloat? Not to mention going up and down? As the gas leaks from the balloon, wouldn’t someone need to constantly removing weight from the balloon? Make it carry water/ice/dry ice?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394967",
"author": "tehgringe",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T21:59:24",
"content": "@HackJack – It states the balloon maintains max capacity for 1.5-2 days at which point it needs topping up.I also suspect they overfill and compensate the additional lift by adding ballast (think they suggest clay in the pro-tip section). That way as it begins to deflate, you can remove ballast without dragging a cannister around everywhere.What I failed to pick up was the max potential weight for 36″ Helium filled balloon was.I would love to try something like this, but maybe build a lightweight frame around the balloon, and add some lightweight motors for propulsion rather than servos, although I see the appeal in the flappy-fish look.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395005",
"author": "mnlgarbe",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T23:35:29",
"content": "In video “ollie” is always falling. I like it a lot by it is only a balloon that flaps his wings.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395051",
"author": "Leithoa",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T02:57:51",
"content": "Wouldn’t it be simpler/more efficient to use regular motors rather than servos to make him flap? at the very least it would be simpler to program. Though perhaps the servo method is the lighter of the two options since even if you only used one motor to power his ‘wings’ you would still need to create some mechanism to make it flap.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395084",
"author": "sigtermer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T04:54:20",
"content": "so the fish has a life span of two days? how sad.imagine ollie on the ground trying his very best to fly again but can’t, and then it dies *sniff*",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395125",
"author": "Obligatory quote man",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T08:21:13",
"content": "Want a toy blimp in your home? Read this hilarious tale first!“The horror of blimps”http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=160851",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395217",
"author": "Richie",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T13:45:44",
"content": "“Check out a video of Ollie after the jump.”I LoLed because an “Ollie” is a skateboard “jump”Was this pun intended? Hahahaha",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395328",
"author": "tehgringe",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T19:27:37",
"content": "@OQM -Laughed so hard, I thought I was going to puke. Thanks for the share.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395389",
"author": "Lodewijkadlp",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T23:51:31",
"content": "“meandolly.com”?Really?mean dolly .com?That’s just weird. (I know it’s supposedly me and dolly .com, but, really?)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395396",
"author": "andar_b",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T00:30:23",
"content": "I read me-an’-Dolly, but either way it’s funny!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "408218",
"author": "John Conti",
"timestamp": "2011-06-21T02:35:55",
"content": "Nice Post!Boise State University basketball used to have a RC bow blimp. The thing was *big*, maybe 12 feet long, black and white, jersey cow with a big smile on her face. It would fly around the indoor stadium and drop free tickets on the crowd. I really loved that cow blimp.I often dream that an autonomous blimp could really liven up the bullpen I work in. Maybe this is just the thing for that.My design uses large slow counter-rotating props above the air bag to help it go up and down. The “wings” on old ollie look, well, awkward :-)Best,John",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,197.174434
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/16/making-the-case-for-cool-project-enclosures/
|
Making The Case For Cool Project Enclosures
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Musical Hacks"
] |
[
"box",
"enclosure",
"looper",
"luna",
"PICAXE",
"sound generator"
] |
Quite often, we see project boxes that seem to be constructed more as an afterthought than anything else. That’s not to say there is anything wrong with stuffing your latest creation into a nondescript black box, or even cardboard if it happens to fit your needs. Sometimes however,
an enclosure embodies the spirit of a project
, making it all that much cooler.
[Adam] recently picked up a copy of Make magazine and decided to build their “
Luna Mod
”, a sound effects generator and looper based on a PICAXE-08M. Aside from the micro controller the Luna Mod includes a couple of pots, a switch, and a few LEDs – nothing incredibly striking. Once he had everything assembled on a strip of protoboard, he started working on his enclosure.
The enclosure is made from an old record, which after some trial and error, [Adam] got just right. The record was heated and cut, then bent into shape. While it’s not necessarily a hack, we think it looks pretty slick. It really fits the theme of the Luna Mod and is far more attractive than a plain plastic box.
Stick around to see his sound generator in action.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mR-RXRlWtgg&w=470]
| 11
| 11
|
[
{
"comment_id": "394848",
"author": "Rick",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T18:35:16",
"content": "At first glance, I thought the case was just a CD on top of a black box.I don’t think that bending the record to become a black box adds much over a normal black box decorated with stickers, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder.Perhaps the box looks better in person. In the photo, you can barely see the grooves.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394850",
"author": "Aaron",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T18:38:59",
"content": "Uh, was this a case that really needed to be made? Who’s seriously down on people putting effort into making something look nifty at the same time it works well?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394851",
"author": "Aaron",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T18:39:27",
"content": "That said, the case pictured in the post *definitely* needed to be made.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394853",
"author": "haybales",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T18:40:05",
"content": "@Rick –You must need glasses.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394861",
"author": "svofski",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T18:55:39",
"content": "Very cool enclosure!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394862",
"author": "George",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T18:56:25",
"content": "Come to think of it, I bet you could shoehorn a pretty nice portable three-channel headphone amplifier into an 8-track shell…BRB, off to the thrift store. :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394939",
"author": "zool",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T21:11:59",
"content": "ok but he doesn’t really describe it too well on his sitewould be better if he went through the steps on how to do itonly problems: there’s no back, always a hole in the middle and not too sturdy",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394944",
"author": "Mark",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T21:19:31",
"content": "I agree — the enclosure makes the project (or a bad one can ruin it). In fact my current project is stuck until I find something cool to re-purpose as a case for it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394961",
"author": "StacyD",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T21:46:25",
"content": "George – the 8-track Idea is awesome and would work.The LP melting technique is a simple one and there are a ton of instructions online. Please do not put a tube Amp in this or on this though!!!! Remember that Vinyl in records shatters rather than bends.That being said, old scratched up records are awesome Popcorn Bowls and record covers make for fun decor on any wall or under a tabletop. In fact. I ikea hacked their glass kitchen table set by inserting the cage underneath in reverse so it could store record covers under there and i would not have to look at ugly feet!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395282",
"author": "Meinaart",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T16:56:11",
"content": "Really nice idea :). I like it :), I was thinking about trying to fit the Luna Mod into an Altoids tin but something like that has been done 100 times before :P.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395805",
"author": "blue carbuncle",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T22:52:17",
"content": "WHEW!!! I saw the small photo and thought it was one of these snakeoil Acoustic Revival CD Demagnetizers:http://www.gcaudio.com/cgi-bin/store/showProduct.cgi?id=190lol. At 450 a pop.Then I read the article and was thoroughly relieved and impressed to see your skills with vinyl :)Also thanks for hippin me to Luna Mod as I’m not a Make reader :) Gonna look into that this weekend!Thanks!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,197.326516
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/16/chemical-wood-burning/
|
Chemical Wood Burning
|
Caleb Kraft
|
[
"how-to"
] |
[
"brand",
"burn",
"Chemistry"
] |
Make: Projects has posted an interesting way to burn designs into wood. Instead of doing the traditional method of using a hot iron to hand draw or trace patterns on the wood, they show us how to
use a chemical process to make things easier
. They are using a solution of Ammonium Chloride, applied with a foam stamp, then heated. When it is heated it breaks down to ammonia gas and hydrochloric acid, burning the surface. The advantage here is that you can easily use a stamp to create patterns whereas doing it by hand might be difficult. They do point out that improvements could be made, such as adding something to keep it from soaking into the wood and blurring the edges.
| 25
| 21
|
[
{
"comment_id": "394824",
"author": "Oren Beck",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T17:26:44",
"content": "Pity it’s unlikely that most inkjet carts would not survive the caustic. Printing photos for “burning” would be way cool.. Hmn,,videojet style or similar, air over fluid tank type sprays and an ammonia rated solenoid valve might work.So many worthy Hack enhancements, so little time.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394834",
"author": "Snowcamo",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T18:24:37",
"content": "Ammonium chloride is NOT caustic or dangerous in any real way. It is the ‘salt’ that gives ‘salty licorice’ or ‘salmiak’ its kick. Very popular in Netherlands and in the Scandinavian countries. Usual concentration in candy is 2 – 10 %. Sometimes additionally used pure as a thin coating. It definitely is an acquired taste.When heated it reversibly dissociates into hydrogen chloride and ammonia, both of which contribute to the charring reactions in the hack above.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "6175062",
"author": "Sara",
"timestamp": "2019-08-27T17:04:01",
"content": "How is it reversible?",
"parent_id": "394834",
"depth": 2,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "6352653",
"author": "RileyCoyote",
"timestamp": "2021-05-29T20:18:55",
"content": "It dissociates into hydrogen chloride and ammonia.",
"parent_id": "6175062",
"depth": 3,
"replies": []
}
]
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "394854",
"author": "crizo",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T18:41:13",
"content": "I wonder if lemon juice would have a similar effect.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394863",
"author": "Brad",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T18:59:55",
"content": "@crizo – The burning is an effect of the hydrochloric acid left behind once the ammonia evaporates. I don’t think the lemon juice would be a strong enough acid to achieve the desired results.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394869",
"author": "jef",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T19:06:47",
"content": "Ammonium chloride is a salt and is not that caustic. If I had time, I would give it a try and put the solution in a printer cartridge. Anyone? I expect more problems from the crystallization of the concentrated solution.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394871",
"author": "Mayor Defacto",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T19:07:11",
"content": "this is a very in ingenious idea i like it",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394882",
"author": "DeadlyDad",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T19:51:35",
"content": "BTW, NH4Cl is *cheap*. You can get an entire *kilo* of it for less than $70! I’m not sure how much 150ml (for 1l of solution) would weigh, but buying even a *tenth* of that would last you a *long* time.Anyone want to start a pool over when the first DTW (Direct To Wood) printer shows up here? I’d add a CandyFab-type precision heater that follows the print head, to start the reaction before the liquid has a chance to soak in.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394970",
"author": "password",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T22:14:39",
"content": "so i guess i could just use pure HcL?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394973",
"author": "Bert",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T22:18:31",
"content": "As NH4Cl is highly soluble (372 g/L (20 °C)) in water, I do not expect great problems with printing.DeadlyDad, you mention 1kg for 70 bucks? In Poland, one can buy 900g for less than 5 euros (according to eBay).",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395089",
"author": "yetihehe",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T05:15:43",
"content": "@snowcamo – There is even a page for those who would like to know what it’s like to try some salmiakki:http://www.salmiyuck.com/..",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395198",
"author": "K!P",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T12:33:37",
"content": "for those who want to use it n a printer followed by a heat source, would it not be easier to just use a laser instead. if you are going the high tech way anyway.this is great for using stamps tho :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395854",
"author": "DeadlyDad",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T01:40:03",
"content": "@Bert: Wow! When you are right, you are right: 10lb of 99% for $15!@K!P: While it is true that using a laser might be better, it would also be a *LOT* more expensive than droplets of solution.Hmmm… What about using a line laser like this one (http://www.dealextreme.com/p/36359?r=44625746) to heat the solution?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396404",
"author": "Wilco",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T18:04:03",
"content": "Today I silkscreened with bleeds and with citron acid and both works the same way.http://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/225264_1373825763683_1772997950_606801_6363010_n.jpg",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1552664",
"author": "Ryan",
"timestamp": "2014-06-06T09:02:05",
"content": "broken link. damn. how were your edges?",
"parent_id": "396404",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "396445",
"author": "DeadlyDad",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T21:13:31",
"content": "@Wilco: That looks great! Would you be willing to do an instructable on it?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396491",
"author": "DeadlyDad",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T01:32:18",
"content": "I just had a brainstorm! You don’t *need* 2000dpi precision to print the solution with, so just grab the head off of an old 24-pin dot matrix printer; the ribbon will hang onto the solution just fine.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396553",
"author": "Wilco",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T09:18:48",
"content": "@DeadlyDadMaybe I will try that some time but it is basically the same process as the Sean Michael Ragan’s instructions. Only I use silkscreen to print on wood, because I don’t have Ammonium Chloride I try other substances .On one I use citric acid (because @cries suggest lemon juice) And mix the citric acid with water and bread flour to thicken it.Fore the other one I use thick bleach (brand-name Glorix) because from previous experiments I found out if you heat the bleach it will work faster.I also use a heat gun to apply the heat.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "626331",
"author": "Melissa",
"timestamp": "2012-04-11T05:31:20",
"content": "I just got done making some garden signs thanks to all of your comments, and they turned out so great! I used a mixture of 100 mL water, 2 T flour, and 1 T citric acid. I poured the mixture into a shallow dish and put and piece of felt over the top of it to absorb the liquid and make somewhat of a stamp pad. Then I blotted my stamps on the felt and pressed them onto my wood. After I had the entire word stamped, I took them to my oven and let them cook under the broiler for 2 minutes. I’m really loving the results. Thanks, guys! :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "626332",
"author": "Melissa",
"timestamp": "2012-04-11T05:31:47",
"content": "https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/s320x320/540226_3640980985800_972112542_n.jpg",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "893258",
"author": "Vicki",
"timestamp": "2012-11-28T00:38:09",
"content": "I am wanting to monogram wood gifts using this technique. Do you know if this will work on bamboo? Does it need a sealer? Is it food safe? Thanks",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "893412",
"author": "Melissa",
"timestamp": "2012-11-28T05:01:03",
"content": "I just did mine on 1×4’s from the lumber store, but I’m sure bamboo would work just fine. You would not want to do it in under your oven’s broiler if there is any curve to the wood. Definitely use a heat gun. It does not need a sealer, and since it is only flour, water, and citric acid, it is food safe. You might want to have an extra to play with and get your proportions right. I had to play around with mine a bit and it took a few pieces of wood to get it just how I wanted it.Another note: After all summer in the sun, the garden signs that I made bleached out a little. If I ever do this method again, I am going to do them darker than I want them to be in the end.",
"parent_id": "893258",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "2397332",
"author": "ted baran",
"timestamp": "2015-02-01T03:27:04",
"content": "I cut a vinyl decal on a vinyl cutter. Applied it to wood. Painted with matte clear coat. Rustoleum 2X spray paint. Removed decal. Let dry. Apply the ammonium chloride solution. Heat gun as usual. Done. End result, is perfect. NO bleeding, or discoloration. Just a perfect result. I did this on some junk old pallets that were made of pine and it worked. Hydrochloric acid will only burn the organic wood and leave the painted “inorganic” surface untouched. You’re welcome.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "4895156",
"author": "Crystal",
"timestamp": "2018-08-20T07:06:07",
"content": "I use Citric acid and water.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,197.445467
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/16/resurrecting-the-optigan-disc-format/
|
Resurrecting The Optigan Disc Format
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Musical Hacks"
] |
[
"midi",
"music",
"optigan",
"orchestron",
"retro"
] |
The Optigan and Orchestron were a pair of electronic organs built by Mattel in the 1970s which used swappable optical discs to store instrument information. The discs can still be found today, but the organs are extremely scarce, much to [Gan’s] dismay. After researching the organs for a bit, he decided he could probably
build his own MIDI-compatible interface
for the audio discs.
The discs have audio waveform data printed on them, which can be read using an LED on one side of the disc and an optical transistor on another. After successfully prototyping a reader that could interpret one of the disc’s audio tracks, he constructed a device to read all of the tracks simultaneously, just like the original organs.
His makeshift turntable was constructed on top of an old record player using acrylic discs and toy car wheels to keep things steady. Once the disc is placed on the turntable, he sets his reader in place, and via some custom circuitry, he is able to play the discs using his much more modern keyboard. It sounds pretty decent as you can see in the video below, though he does admit he would like to tweak a few things to make it sound even better.
[thanks Bryan]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmP-BKYvPzg&w=470]
| 23
| 22
|
[
{
"comment_id": "394792",
"author": "Sariel",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T15:01:59",
"content": "very impressive. i loved the organ disc. reminds me of the old school organ music that you heard when you went to the circus in the mid to late 80s.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394793",
"author": "ProfP",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T15:09:48",
"content": "Now *that* is a hack – ingenious, original, lovely job. More like this please.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394799",
"author": "Aaron",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T15:36:28",
"content": "Nice hack!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394800",
"author": "bunedoggle",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T15:37:06",
"content": "WOW, well done. This is an interesting concept I’d never heard of. So there are circular tracks on this disk that are recordings of each note you can play and they are all being read at once and the keyboard gates the output of each track.Very cool hack, nicely done. And a very cool original concept makes the hack even more worthwhile.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394801",
"author": "Nick",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T15:44:50",
"content": "Optigan and Orchestron? Made by Mattel?Is it ironic that those names sound like bad guys in a ’70’s cartoon or toy line?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394802",
"author": "Tweeks",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T15:52:56",
"content": "Very cool retro organ/mini/wavetable hack! So how does (or does) the setup compensate for zero crossing pops? Also.. what format is the data in? 8bit audio? Pure analog? (going to have to go google this format some more).. :)Tweeks",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394805",
"author": "UserName",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T15:59:30",
"content": "Ah, I was in the national science museum not so long ago and they had this talking clock. That looked very much like this:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Speakingclock.JPGthey used optical discs to store the announcers voice. The light reader would physically move to change tracks. So it would say five instead of four for example.I wanted to know what those discs were called, there was no information next to machine nor was there anything interesting that I could find on the internet.But I am very impressed, nice detail :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394806",
"author": "hpux735",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T15:59:53",
"content": "Wow, that is so cool. It sounds kinda spooky. Awesome hack!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394808",
"author": "robert",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T16:02:14",
"content": "Can anyone link me to some information about scratching the live music as seen from 1:08 to 1:36 in the video with a midi dj wheel? I would love to use that effect!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394810",
"author": "twopartepoxy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T16:20:01",
"content": "nice hack, nice video. very informative. good work!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394812",
"author": "Sqelch",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T16:33:28",
"content": "Awesome. Man look at that pickup, I wish I had skills like that. Sound on the first disc was pretty much amazing cept for the popping, wonder if he can clean that up.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394815",
"author": "justin sabe",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T16:45:53",
"content": "Tweeks, the optical disk has an analog waveform on it, the led and detector circuit make it into a voltage and there is a switch and mixer that lets him play any of the 58 channels (notes) on the disc. The only point it is digital is the midi telling the micro processor switch on a CMOS switch to hear that track.So the audio chain is all analog being switch digitally.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394830",
"author": "epooch",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T18:20:19",
"content": "I wonder if he could use different colored LEDs and filters or transparent paint on the phototransistors to solve the crosstalk problem instead of the difficult to mill screen.Great project!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394845",
"author": "hpux735",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T18:31:03",
"content": "@robertThere really isn’t any pertinent information to send you to. The scratching effect was him physically changing the playback speed of the optical disk. This is just like if you were to scratch a vinyl record of put your finger on a cassette tape. If you want the effect the easiest way is to have a physical medium that you can manipulate. Or, you can do it in software. Doing it in software wouldn’t be that hard…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394858",
"author": "George",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T18:52:53",
"content": "People who reinvent media readers are my heroes; people who reinvent readers for ridiculously obscure long-obsolete media doubly so.Technology-wise, the Optigan looks a lot like a modernized version of the Mellotron…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394864",
"author": "svofski",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T19:01:26",
"content": "Very cool. I wonder if a light source/sensor of a flatbed scanner could be used for a similar hack?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394872",
"author": "Mayor Defacto",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T19:11:39",
"content": "this is great i love this kinda stuff",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394881",
"author": "Matthias_H",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T19:51:10",
"content": "Instead of controlling the mixing on the receiver side, I’d rather modulate the LEDs individually and go for passive summation. The circuitry required should be a lot simpler.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394946",
"author": "wardy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T21:21:09",
"content": "That scratching effect is almost edible. Nom.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394949",
"author": "zool",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T21:32:03",
"content": "coolsounds like you do need to take care of the popping thoughthis looks like it would be good for the discs that had samples/beats on them (for less popping)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394993",
"author": "macona",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T23:10:49",
"content": "I think it may be the switches that he is using to select tracks that is causing the popping. Wonder if something like a reed relay might be better for this.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395424",
"author": "the sword master",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T02:47:58",
"content": "The poping is caused by an very fast change in the signal level as a note is struck/released.He will need a bunch of voltage controled amplifiers to get rid of the popping. that way he can create a slight fade in and a fade out at the start and end of notes respectively. The VCA doesnt have to be anything fancy though, an LED/PhotoResistor(voltage divider) couple would do. Then just add a small capacitance to the led’s on/off signal.he could perhaps extend it to have a full ADSR control using these vca’s, and that would make is even cooler still.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "6343019",
"author": "DST",
"timestamp": "2021-04-25T19:35:04",
"content": "indeed, or add a zero-crossing detector to the “player”, so it only starts/stops the note at 0 (which won’t introduce noticable lag since that tend to happen extremely often with them waveforms :)",
"parent_id": "395424",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
}
] | 1,760,377,197.501532
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/16/google-adk-project-shows-just-how-easy-it-is-to-use/
|
Google ADK Project Shows Just How Easy It Is To Use
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Android Hacks",
"Arduino Hacks"
] |
[
"android",
"arduino",
"google adk",
"led matrix",
"music",
"shiftbrite"
] |
[yergacheffe] was able to get his hands on a shiny new Google ADK board about a week before it was announced at I/O, and got busy putting together a neat project to show off some of the ADK’s features. His idea was to
meld together the ADK and Google’s new music service
, two items he says complement each other very well.
He had a handful of LED matrices left over from last year’s Maker Faire, which he decided to use as a Google music metadata display. The base of the display is made from laser-cut acrylic, with a few spare ShiftBrites lighting up the Google music beta logo.
He says it took literally just a couple lines of code to get his Android handset to talk with the display – a testament to just how easy it is to use the ADK.
Pretty much anyone can walk up, attach their phone, and see their current music track on the display with zero fuss, which you can see in the video demo below.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_bWOUUv8zo&w=470]
| 9
| 9
|
[
{
"comment_id": "394772",
"author": "Scott",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T13:16:22",
"content": "$389.03? OUCH!http://www.rt-net.jp/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3_4&products_id=1",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394777",
"author": "spiritplumber",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T13:46:46",
"content": "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsI30y3R0Z8This is $200",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394789",
"author": "fartface",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T14:54:46",
"content": "Must be nice to be filthy rich.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394795",
"author": "Mauro",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T15:19:50",
"content": "I would use an Arduino and some arduino-module-writing to do this thing. I liked the idea, but the price is awesomely insane for just a hobby.Unless you are filthy rich.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394804",
"author": "Mike Nathan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T15:58:34",
"content": "For those concerned with price, see here:http://hackaday.com/2011/05/13/using-googles-adk-on-standard-arduino-hardware/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394817",
"author": "pff",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T16:49:09",
"content": "frequency response looks suspiciouscant wait to see someone do anything useful with this",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395037",
"author": "torwag",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T02:12:05",
"content": "when I heard about the ADK I thought it would push USB host capability on smartphones…Is it just me who feels it pretty odd that a 8 bit uC has to provide host capabilities to talk to an 1GHz ARM processor (which comes with host capabilities, which are not activated in most cases)?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396156",
"author": "sup0",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T20:34:39",
"content": "So…anyone have any nice Music Beta invites they’re willing to share with a fellow enthusiast? :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "556872",
"author": "azhurb",
"timestamp": "2012-01-12T09:47:47",
"content": "I made a similar device, but the more simpler.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fyPuvWf8L8",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,197.550033
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/16/destroying-an-arduinos-eeprom/
|
Destroying An Arduino’s EEPROM
|
Brian Benchoff
|
[
"Arduino Hacks",
"Misc Hacks"
] |
[
"destroyer",
"eeprom",
"flash"
] |
We’ve seen projects test the lifespan of an EEPROM before, but these projects have only tested discrete EEPROM chips. [John] at tronixstuff had a
different idea
and set out to test the internal EEPROM of an ATmega328.
[John]’s build is just an Arduino and LCD shield that writes the number 170 to memory on one pass, and the number 85 on the next pass. Because these numbers are 10101010 and 01010101 in binary, each bit is flipped flipped once each run. We think this might be better than writing 0xFF for every run – hackaday readers are welcomed to comment on this implementation. The Arduino was plugged into a wall wart and sat, “behind a couch for a couple of months.” The EEPROM saw it’s first write error after 47 days and 1,230,163 cycles. This is an order of magnitude better than the spec on the atmel datasheet, but similar to the results of similar experiments.
We covered a similar project, the
Flash Destroyer
, last year, but that tested an external EEPROM, and not the internal memory of a microcontroller.
Check out the hugely abridged video of the EEPROM Killer after the break.
| 20
| 15
|
[
{
"comment_id": "394752",
"author": "wardy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T11:33:29",
"content": "Presumably it then went insane and locked him in an airlock?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394753",
"author": "Daid",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T11:39:48",
"content": "Note that you almost always get a lot better specs from a chip then the specs say. The specs are worst case, guaranteed values. In all temperatures, under all conditions. So if you run room temperature for a few days, the results will be much better then putting the same chip in a temperature chamber and put the chip trough -55C +125C cycles (absolute maximum ratings for AVR chips)For hacking goals it’s also fine to overclock 16Mhz AVRs to 20Mhz, and the 20Mhz AVRs to 32Mhz. They get a little bit warmer, but function fine.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394758",
"author": "holly_smoke",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T11:55:49",
"content": "Intuitively I would say that the recorded number of write cycles could be doubled, because each bit was only set once every two cycles (0x55, 0xAA writes). Can’t really be bothered to think about this too deeply, it’s been a long morning.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394762",
"author": "k-ww",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T12:19:32",
"content": "FYI – Eeproms are erased to 0xff before a write, and then the zero bits are written.A better test for random data would be to store an xor of the adress byte[s] and a pass number –this would show up faults and cross-coupled bits better.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394763",
"author": "gridstop",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T12:20:02",
"content": "smoke, I’d say that the number should be halved since each bit was actually only programmed 600,000 times, not 1.2 mil.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1754096",
"author": "Robin",
"timestamp": "2014-08-26T14:54:10",
"content": "Seehttp://electronics.stackexchange.com/a/21234. Each write includes an erase operation",
"parent_id": "394763",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "394773",
"author": "tuxfool",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T13:31:49",
"content": "@k-ww:That is the case for many (and certainly the newer eeproms) but it appears that some that allow overwriting at an address without clearing to 0xff. It just happens that bits already pulled to 0 do not change (not sure if 0->1 transition happens either).I could however be misreading data sheets…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394774",
"author": "ejonesss",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T13:35:10",
"content": "i think it would be best to completely fill the memory with a pattern that can be read to determine what sectors are failing.depending on how evenly the semiconductor media is distributed across the working area on the chip will determine where it fails (just like the floppy and cdr media).",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394976",
"author": "Ales Hakl",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T22:40:09",
"content": "As for overclocking AVRs, we have tried running 8MHz ATmega8515L at 12MHz and it really does not work: while the CPU and most peripherals seems to run fine, UART is completely unusable.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "3345273",
"author": "MarkF",
"timestamp": "2017-01-01T11:57:36",
"content": "I know I’m 5 years late here but I can’t believe nobody dignified this comment at the time with at least a “lol” or something. :)",
"parent_id": "394976",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "394996",
"author": "eu_neke",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T23:12:55",
"content": "@holly_smoke & gridstop:On each write cycle EVERY bit changes – the ones that are already 1 go to 0 and vice versa. Thus, the number of write cycles is as reported.Of course, this number is specific to this particular chip (which is now destroyed!) – this may or may not be a good representation of the normal life of the AVR’s EEPROM. The best way to work this out would be to destroy some more, and do some statistics on the results ;)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395180",
"author": "Alex",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T12:06:15",
"content": "Why do eeproms die? A means of killing them is the afore mentioned one, but why do they die=))?I’m guessing something going wrong with the sillicon…electrons flipping…dunno…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "442094",
"author": "Jose Faria",
"timestamp": "2011-08-26T12:59:49",
"content": "Short explanation here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EEPROM#Failure_modes",
"parent_id": "395180",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "395738",
"author": "Pretty good",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T19:58:10",
"content": "A lot better than the 3 or 4 writes I was used to getting on my NES cartridges before I lost my save games. And a lot better up time than the 47 minutes between cartridge resets (At best). Technology has come a long way.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "2669815",
"author": "panther3001",
"timestamp": "2015-08-05T20:57:23",
"content": "Last I checked, EEPROM is a capacitive-based memory technology. Here’s my crude understanding: this means that you charge a tiny physical cell with electronics in order to set a bit. The electrons going in to set the bit, however, must pass through some sort of thin barrier in order to enter. We know that electronics have a measurable physical size, so each time they pass through the barrier to attach to the capacitive substrate they damage the material, essentially breaking away atoms and leaving little holes in the barrier material. Therefore, each write to the capacitive EEPROM memory wears down the barrier. When the barrier gets worn thin enough, the charge (electrons) do not remain on the capacitor as long. The charge (ie: data on the EEPROM) is meant to last for X number of years, at something like 100 deg C (check the datasheet to be accurate), before it naturally dissipates enough (ie: before enough electrons leave the cell) that the memory state is lost or corrupted. Therefore, an EEPROM test is inconclusive unless we know *how long* the memory state could be retained before it would naturally get corrupted from electrons self-discharging off of the capacitive cells.So, how long did the code wait before checking the memory value in the EEPROM? There’s a big difference between 1 second, 1 minute, 1 week, and 100 years, for instance. Perhaps you get 1 million writes before it “fails,” but at 500,000 writes the time the memory will be retained has dropped from 100 years to 10 days, so for many applications it’s as good as dead anyway.Just some food for though. Interesting test, regardless. Just rememeber: time is a factor. How long can the little capacitive bits retain their charge?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "2869211",
"author": "Jim Jones",
"timestamp": "2016-01-04T15:41:53",
"content": "Was this during one consecutive power cycle? or was the power cycled on and off to the system?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "3208130",
"author": "Tim Eckel",
"timestamp": "2016-09-21T04:59:07",
"content": "If there was a power cycle between each write, I would guess it would have failed at closer to the manufacture’s spec of 100,000.",
"parent_id": "2869211",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "3120093",
"author": "Rhuan",
"timestamp": "2016-08-06T22:44:18",
"content": "Ok, but what about EEPROM reading?Does it influences the lifetime?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "3199138",
"author": "Martin",
"timestamp": "2016-09-15T06:16:24",
"content": "No.",
"parent_id": "3120093",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "3520660",
"author": "T",
"timestamp": "2017-04-10T21:54:28",
"content": "If the goal was to find out when a specific EEPROM location stops being writeable, it is better to do repeated writes to just one address instead of the whole EEPROM?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,197.60298
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/04/diy-sunrise-alarm-clock/
|
DIY Sunrise Alarm Clock
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"clock hacks"
] |
[
"alarm",
"clock",
"cortex-m3",
"diy",
"led"
] |
As a project for an embedded systems class, [Alan]
recently built himself a sunrise-simulating alarm clock
. You are probably familiar with these sorts of timepieces – they gradually light up the room to awaken the sleeping individual rather than jarring them awake with a buzzer or the radio. Since many commercial units with this feature are sold for $70 and up, his goal was to replicate the functionality at a fraction of the cost, using only open source components.
An Arm Cortex M3 processor runs the show, displaying the time via a pair of 8×8 LED matrix panels on the front of the device. The clock is programmed to gently wake up its user by simulating a sunrise over a period of 5, 15, 30, 45, or 60 minutes. If the user has not woken up before the sunrise simulation is complete, the clock resorts to a traditional piezo alarm to rouse the heavy sleeper.
The project is nicely done, and after looking at his bill of materials it seems to be far cheaper than many sunrise alarm clocks you will find in stores.
| 15
| 15
|
[
{
"comment_id": "390085",
"author": "NatureTM",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T20:54:11",
"content": "I don’t want to be negative, but if his goal was to be cheap, Arm Cortex M3 seems like a little overkill. Then again, maybe that was a class requirement, or just what he prefers to use.It looks nice though.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390087",
"author": "Alex",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T20:55:31",
"content": "I’ve heard of alarms with bells that slowly increase in intensity, but I’ve never seen one of these. What a cool idea, and this seems like a nice implementation.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390092",
"author": "Alex",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T20:57:40",
"content": "Oh wow, Cortex M3? That’s crazy overkill. Interesting choice indeed.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390095",
"author": "Me",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T21:04:31",
"content": "I have one of those Phillips alarm clocks,and it’s horrible: it’s all plastic, and toolight to operate the front buttons withoutholding onto the back of it, also the buttonsgive off a really cheap, hollow “plasticky”sound. To top it off, the LCD display is WAYtoo bright for a nightstand, and it frequently“forgets” the programmed brightness level.I’d very much like to build one of these.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390096",
"author": "Me",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T21:05:34",
"content": "What a nuisance, btw, that this edit boxextends past-and-underneath the “Hacks”sidebar. :-(",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390097",
"author": "Jeff",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T21:09:28",
"content": "An 8×8 LED display can be pretty bright as well. A sleep timer, light-sensing dimmer, or dimmer dial would be nice as well.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390107",
"author": "ZeroCool42",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T21:29:51",
"content": "Yay! I have been wanting to make one of these for a while but never quite figured out how!Then again, I wonder if it could simply be done with LEDs and PWM?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390109",
"author": "George",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T21:32:01",
"content": "A Cortex M3 might seem like overkill, but if you read the project page, he’s using a $10 STM32-Discovery board. Given that he’s using like 23 or so i/o’s, that dev board is probably the cheapest, simplest solution for his needs.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390230",
"author": "Allen",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T03:43:24",
"content": "@Jeff It does have a light sensor that dims the display at lower ambient light levels.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390236",
"author": "grenadier",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T04:03:57",
"content": "Does it make songbird noises?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390255",
"author": "error404",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T05:31:47",
"content": "It’s not like the STM32 part is expensive anyway, the 128K part he used is available in singles for like $2.50/ea, and for this application he could probably get away with using the 32K version at $1.75.Add the uber cheap dev board into the picture, and this really is cost-driven choice.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390257",
"author": "fghsgfhsdf",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T05:36:09",
"content": "“Also if time allowed, a DMA should be used to transfer the display data from memory to GPIO without CPU intervention, which could save a lot of CPU run time. ” -author.YOU SEE! he was tight with a m3 cortex.i’m suggesting an upgrade of the project with an intel atom board. But a Xeon platform might be a better choice.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390843",
"author": "Bogdan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T08:35:46",
"content": "I don’t know how the 60W bulb is enough. I used a 150W halogen projector that falls partially directly on the bed and still find it not powerful enough…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391021",
"author": "Pjn",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T19:29:15",
"content": "Can’t get any incandescents in Europe anymore, and all the others are shit dimmable.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391184",
"author": "medwardl",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T06:26:26",
"content": "I dislike my buzzer enough as it is add light and I’d have it flying across my room the first morning.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,197.654168
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/04/cutting-paper-scrolls-with-frickin-lasers/
|
Cutting Paper Scrolls With Frickin’ Lasers
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"Arduino Hacks",
"Laser Hacks"
] |
[
"paper",
"scroll",
"servo"
] |
This circuit illustration
adds a scrolling paper feeder to the bed of a laser cutter
. In the video after the break you can see that the actual assembly is put on the bed of the laser cutter. After the laser has cut out the specified pattern, the scroll is wound to move an un-cut portion into place. It uses a servo motor to drive one of the spools.
An Arduino Uno with a servo shield is being used for this application. It has one button which winds one spool for a pre-programmed period of time. There’s a few issues with this setup, namely that it’s not tied into the CNC program that runs the laser. There’s also a lack of precision when using a continuously rotating servo like this. If it were upgraded to use a stepper motor and patched into the CNC hardware this would make cutting new scrolls for your player piano a breeze.
Here’s a project that does the opposite,
it takes old player piano rolls and digitizes them
.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UIKW_1kibo&w=470]
| 16
| 16
|
[
{
"comment_id": "390068",
"author": "Awesomenesser",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T20:16:51",
"content": "I want to see what happens to a running servo when you cut it in half.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390074",
"author": "SparkyGSX",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T20:24:06",
"content": "It’s not just the lack of control or feedback from the motor driving the spool; the diameter of the spool with the paper gets larger as more paper is wound onto it, which would still make the setup inaccurate if a stepper motor was used.It’s probably better to use an incremental encoder with a separate wheel to measure the length of the paper being wound.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390082",
"author": "Brad",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T20:45:36",
"content": "SparkyGSX beat me to it. Needs some sort of registration marks on the paper itself. Pre-print black marks on the edge and use an optical encoder to determine how far it’s gone.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390099",
"author": "Jack",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T21:14:59",
"content": "Use the old style printer paper that comes with the tear off sides that have holes.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390108",
"author": "Hirudinea",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T21:31:30",
"content": "Thats one hell of a ticker tape machine! As for measuring the paper, why not just gut a laser mouse and use those parts to measure the amount of paper dispensed.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390126",
"author": "drake",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T22:15:32",
"content": "Or have the drive motor NOT attached to the spooling device …",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390137",
"author": "Wayne",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T22:45:06",
"content": "To add to Brad’s idea, rather than black marks, just use the laser to cut the next alignment mark on the edge of the paper use a typical optical switch. Of course this assumes this will be a framed cutting process like the video and not a continuous cut.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390174",
"author": "apothus",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T00:37:57",
"content": "The driver motor could be a series of roller, then the diameter of the roller would not change and you could hook it up to servos or steppers with not problem. Not sure how mach3 or any of those cnc programs could handle something like this natively though, may still need to be a seperate feeder system that recieves a pulse and sends a pulse at the end of the cutting program and the end of the new matterial feed.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390186",
"author": "Hackerspacer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T01:12:41",
"content": "I always thought steppers were not as accurate as servos? Especially under high torque? Our (really high end) industrial (are there other kinds?) waterjet user servos, our “cheap” plasma cutter uses steppers and our high definition plasma cutter uses servos.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390200",
"author": "macw",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T02:07:59",
"content": "Servos have closed-loop feedback controls (a potentiometer or rotary encoder that measures the position of the shaft) while steppers don’t. You’re right about torque — basically if there’s enough back-force that the stepper starts slipping and skipping coil pairs, all your accuracy is shot, while the servo will know that it’s off and attempt to realign.On the other hand the stepper may be more accurate for moving in small increments with little torque because the stepping gives it discrete, accurate, geometrically-fixed rotations rather than having to rely on an electronic part with its own set of errors.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390212",
"author": "Renee",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T02:54:38",
"content": "I remember reading once that there is a methodology for dealing with the increasing size of a spool of something.I found it when researching how to make film camera’s. I wish I could remember the details but it seemed like basic math that took into account length and thickness of the material and spool size.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390289",
"author": "Grovenstien",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T07:24:24",
"content": "Does this account for the reduction in the size of the paper spool shown to the right?To get accurate cuts every time this needs to be accounted for, right?Or does the previously cut pattern stop using a sensor of some kind.Otherwise get halfway through the roll and your cuts will be well out!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390393",
"author": "SparkyGSX",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T12:15:20",
"content": "@Hackerspacer: your statement is correct, if we are talking about industrial servo amplifiers. These are basically a motor (used to be brushed DC, nowadays mostly BLDC or BLAC, but you could even use an asynchronous motor), a position feedback device (absolute or incremental encoder, resolver, etc.), and the amplifier itself. The amplifier is what makes it work; it continuously compares the current position to the desired position of the motor, and corrects for any deviations.This “servo”, however, is a hobby servo that has been modified for continuous rotation, which means you have to remove the position feedback potentiometer, so now it’s just a DC motor with a gearbox and a H-bridge that can be controlled by a 1-2ms pulse train. It’s no longer a servo because it lacks any type of feedback.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390408",
"author": "Ratty",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T12:57:44",
"content": "Can’t access their site at the moment, but why are they using a servo shield, when the Arduino natively supports attaching servos?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390573",
"author": "bothersaidpooh",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T18:20:28",
"content": "Wonder why no-one has made a laser thermal paper writer yet?This ought to be far faster and more accurate than a thermal head, and not as limited to low print speeds.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390838",
"author": "echodelta",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T07:58:54",
"content": "Capstan drive not spool drive is the way to get it linear. However in the case of the player piano the take-up spool diameter is included in the design playing and cutting so it all balances out.Diamond shaped holes dumb. You want short on and off times.Does it leave hanging chads?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,197.712143
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/04/build-your-own-programmable-logic-controller/
|
Build Your Own Programmable Logic Controller
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"Microcontrollers"
] |
[
"atmega8",
"opto-isolated",
"plc"
] |
[Q] is an Electrical Engineer who works in an industrial setting. He frequently uses Programmable Logic Controllers at work but had never built one himself. He decided to undertake the project at home and managed to
build a PLC that outputs 120V AC or 12 V DC and has optoisolated inputs
.
On the circuit board you’ll find an ATmega8 and an EEPROM for extra data storage. Six outputs are controlled by relays since they are able to output either alternating or direct current. There are eight inputs which use optical isolators as buffers to protect the microcontroller.
So what did he end up using this for? It was part of his Christmas light setup last year. The image above shows the PLC in a water-tight electrical box with extension cords running to each of the devices he wishes to control. The example code is what he used on the X-mas setup, but it should be enough of a guide to program this to work with just about any application.
| 28
| 27
|
[
{
"comment_id": "390067",
"author": "M4CGYV3R",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T20:16:25",
"content": "So…basically he wired some relays and extension cords to an ATMEGA chip?A device without an intended use is just pointless. Even if you can occasionally plug Christmas lights into it for fun.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390077",
"author": "ZeroCool42",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T20:30:20",
"content": "@M4CGYV3R: Thanks for the translation into English :).Still, someone will find it useful for something I’m sure :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390078",
"author": "INquiRY",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T20:33:01",
"content": "And where in his AVR code is the “Logic” from PLC?His site states: “best of all they use LADDER LOGIC. I love them. So one day I decided to build one.”But he doesn’t, really.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390084",
"author": "McMonster",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T20:53:28",
"content": "Is the optical isolation done the right way in this project? Both the transistor and the diode have common ground, which means it isn’t really isolated.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390118",
"author": "Colecago",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T21:58:40",
"content": "@McMonsterYou are correct, he should have used different grounds. Not a bad looking board though",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390134",
"author": "Agent420",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T22:40:28",
"content": "@INquiRYThough I also did not see reference to ladder logic being used in his code, I have noted a free ladder logic logic compiler for avr & pic:http://cq.cx/ladder.plThat said, ladder logic is simply a visual perspective and any code if/then logic will accomplish the same tasks. In fact, most commercial ladder logic based plc’s do in fact run their instructions sequentially from the top of the ladder downward.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390135",
"author": "Agent420",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T22:43:23",
"content": "I also agree the common grounding issue is a major design flaw, and somewhat defeats the purpose of the optical isolation.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390160",
"author": "finno",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T23:48:19",
"content": "@McMonster: At best, it will limit an over-voltage on the input reaching the AVR but yep, it’s not really isolated. He may as well have just put a cheaper zenner or transorb.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390180",
"author": "Q",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T00:52:47",
"content": "Hi guysI was planning on developing ladder logic programming for this PLC but that proved to be above my computer programming skill level, so I moved onto other things.As for the Opti-coupler:If you read the writeup on the input circuit:“The grounds do not have to be tied together, However, I always like to tie all my power supply grounds together so I decided to do this on the board.”When you work with Industrial controllers, you tie the neutrals of all your power supplies together (floating grounds are unsafe) and, then you tie one of those neutrals to earth ground. Because my PLC was mainly designed to mess around with small 5V inputs I decided to simplify things and just make the connections on the board that way they get tied to earth via the power plug.In the end the input side of the Opti-couplers do get tied to the power supply in some way (external to the board or right on it).“I also agree the common grounding issue is a major design flaw, and somewhat defeats the purpose of the optical isolation.”The optical isolation will still provide protection to the rest of the board. Surges or improper voltages on the input will only blow the OK itself but, will not jump to the output side and blow the micro controller or other components.Now if I had designed the PLC for industrial use I would have definitely not tied to high and low side of the OK together, as well as protected the power supply by using a good insulation transformerGood catch, I like to explain as much as I can, and from the commends it seems that I need to make the OK write-up more clear.Thanks for the input, guys I always love talking design, it’s a great way for me to learn.CheersQ",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390188",
"author": "Hackerspacer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T01:14:16",
"content": "We make Arduinos into PLCs with some optically isolated 5VDC to 120VAC solid state relays and custom made shields. Works very well.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390198",
"author": "macw",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T01:59:48",
"content": "An Arduino *is* a PLC, isn’t it? Isn’t PLC really just an industrial term for “embedded computer controller”?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390217",
"author": "Brian Neeley",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T03:18:28",
"content": "@macwA PLC is a controller that is purpose built to function in adverse conditons. Extremes in temperatures, humidity, vibration, dust, etc are normal operating conditions for a PLC. Inputs and outputs can be nearly anything you want (DC, AC, or analog, from 5VDC, to 440VAC 3 phase). You don’t buy a real PLC unless you have an actual use for it (learning to use one is a valid use), simply because they are expensive. Also, you can add an arbitrary number of inputs and outputs (up to the limits of the PLC controller), and you can chain a number of them together.You CAN do anything with a *duino that you can do with a PLC, but it is all a matter of what you want to do with it. If you need dozens of IO, and need to handle line level voltages, in extreme environments, you will use a PLC. If you need to control highly complex, industrial systems, you will use PLCs.*duinos (or other forms of microcontrollers) are better suited to smaller systems. I am sure that others will disagree with me, but if you are designing one machine, use an Arduino. If you are designing the entire plant, use a PLC.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390250",
"author": "macw",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T05:15:47",
"content": "Nice job copying that from wikipedia, I guess? There’s nothing in there that makes a “PLC” anything special other than “a hardened microcontroller”",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390258",
"author": "Hackerspacer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T05:40:22",
"content": "Not sure I agree with your statement “If you need to control highly complex, industrial systems, you will use PLCs.”Conventional logic says this is correct. But Arduinos have plenty of power – on par with many common PLCs. They are far less expensive and without too much work are able to be extended out such that they can talk with each other and perform computer based monitoring. What they can’t do is drive a large touch screen or be programmed with ladder logic (sort of anyway).Arduinos generally lack *any* 120v outputs but with some solid state or mechanical optically isolated relays, you can control up to 480 volt systems without terrible difficulty – assuming you know what you are doing. The SSR modules are fairly inexpensive and because the arduinos are so much easier to use, easier to program and cheaper, we have embedded them in all sorts of industrial controls. We built a roughly $100,000 anodizing line using 11 of them (mostly Megas) and saved quite a bit of hassle, time and frustration – plus they all talk to each other, control displays, accept inputs and control outputs and perform error detection and process control. In short, pretty much everything we needed. I consider Arduinos to be PLCs, but better in nearly every regard. And I say that as someone who has dealt far more than they want to with Siemens and Telemecanique and other “true” PLCs.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390489",
"author": "none",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T14:42:24",
"content": "@macwYou’re right, functionally a PLC is nothing more than a hardened microcontroller.But, when you buy a PLC it’s already built and tested. Also, they are quite flexible (you can expand them adding modules). you get a development environment with libraries and testing facilities. They’re ready to talk to SCADA systems by standard protocols. You get vendor support and spares…All very valuable things that save time and headaches when doing complex (and often dangerous) stuff.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390496",
"author": "tristan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T15:12:32",
"content": "Koyo makes some sub $100 PLCs and they seem to work just fine, has excellent ladder software as well.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390713",
"author": "Brian Neeley",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T00:43:26",
"content": "@macwActually, that was off the top of my head. And you are absolutely correct. I should also mention that I’ve only had one class in PLC’s, and that over a decade ago.And I do agree with Hackerspacer. When I said “highly complex, industrial systems”, I was thinking more about the ‘industrial’ than the ‘complex’. PLCs are (mostly) designed for nasty, miserable environments that have neither air conditioning or filtration. And they are installed and maintained by electricians. Most electricians are pretty smart, but they tend to work on “bigger” equipment.In my mind, I roughly divide them this way:If the connecting wires are 14 gauge and larger, and carry either 48VDC or some type of line voltage; OR are very electrically noisy, you should probably use a PLC. If the conecting wires are 18 gauge and smaller, and won’t handleing more than ± 12VDC, go with a microcontroller.Or even more simply put, if your signal wires carry enough current to kill you outright, use a PLC. Otherwise, use a microcontroller.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "418406",
"author": "INquiRY",
"timestamp": "2011-07-16T16:16:28",
"content": "PLC is just a term that has stuck for many kinds of modular, rail-mount, easily programmable controllers with specific IO needs. PLCs were the next step from relay control blocks.So basically, all those discrete blocks (relays, timers, logic) that had to be wired, it could be done with programming just one block via a simple graphical interface.If you build a few, simple machines professionally that need some control – use a PLC. For larger scale installations, the availably systems (building blocks) are not easily categorized, but everything goes: PLC with motion control and addional IO modules connected via some field bus, up to embedded real time OSs with graphical process control GUI etc..It’s all about standardization – of course, if you are very quick, you can build your own specialized hardware to do the job. But only few people will be able to design, build, program and test a system within the time they can setup a PLC. In addition, a proprietary solution is not easily replaced and maintained while pretty much anyone could replace and reprogram a PLC.@Agent420I know – there is also a (discontinued?) project called MikroSPS, by the guys who now mainly do the MikroKopter. I think it is able to generate code from a logic diagram made with EAGLE.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "418407",
"author": "INquiRY",
"timestamp": "2011-07-16T16:21:28",
"content": "Here’s the link:http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=de&sl=de&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mikrokopter.de%2Fde_sps%2Feinleitung.phpDevelopment discontinued, but functional.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "945284",
"author": "Doc",
"timestamp": "2013-01-23T07:10:17",
"content": "Who cares if its overkill or technically not this or that? I think it’s a great project, particularly if you someday get some kids involved in understanding how it all works. Better than playing video games or watching TV IMO, and he probably had the best light display on the block. Beat that Mr and Mrs Joneses!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1003341",
"author": "Ramgarhia",
"timestamp": "2013-05-12T06:01:20",
"content": "Microcontroller also take the place of PLCIts up to Hardware design we all know PLC is able to work in Extremes in temperatures, humidity, vibration, dust, etc are normal operating conditions.but if your Electronic Hardware designer then# you can choose a appropriate components for wide rang of operating temperature# A good PCB design by considering all EMC standard will allow you to work in Vibrationand Noisy Environment.# For Dust Protection you can use thin coating layer paste which will help you for Dust Protection.at last Software Consideration# PLC use Ladder ,FDB etc# Microcontrollers use Embedded C etc.What is Main Difference b/w PLC and MCU based PLC.# Ladder logic is mainly design for Electrical Engg.’s who only know NO,NC of relay.# Software of PLC are Available Worldwide and any little skilled person who deals with Relay are able to program PLC But not able to program Microcontroller based PLC.# PLC hardware consist semiconductor base and MIcroprocessor/microcontroller is RUN inside PLC but User Interface programing is Ladder (for Electrical Engg’s).# Microcontroller PLC is also Beat with Commercial PLC like Schneider etc. but only skilled person can program Microcontroller PLC not a person who deals with NO NCfor more detail :amardeep.singh190@gmail.com",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1301541",
"author": "Adam",
"timestamp": "2014-03-26T01:51:32",
"content": "I do PLC development daily for a living. I have worked on power plant systems with 100’s of I/O points and 1000’s of communicated points. The more I learn about arduinos, and other controllers the more I am convinced that the multi $100K systems i work on are not much more powerful (in cases less) than these controllers.I believe most of what you are paying for is the decades of development these companies have invested (MODICON, Allen Bradley, GE, Siemens). M$ windows would be much more expensive if billions of people weren’t buying copies. As for flexibility, I would argue my hands are tied very often because this controller doesn’t work with that protocol. The OS of the PLC is what it is. With C or Linux you will never be told that cannot be done, just that it may take alot of work. There is also very often a patchwork of protocol bridges and media converters to get certain controllers to work with older hardware. There is a much easier entry to control something with an off the shelf PLC (especially if you are replacing relay logic). People who know nothing about CPUs, electronics, or low level programming can be controlling something pretty quickly.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1305836",
"author": "Sunil",
"timestamp": "2014-03-27T07:40:16",
"content": "I have a PLC+HMI which is called EasyPLC micro programmed using text language which I call CLARITY which is more like BASIC and can also be called PLCBASIC. If any body is interested please drop me a mail and I can forward you the manual and then you can think of buying it. Thanks",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1905641",
"author": "ashutosh joshi",
"timestamp": "2014-09-25T18:52:48",
"content": "i have a one controller chip so how to hack this chip and how to i make chip program? please help me , any software are used ….???`",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "3019887",
"author": "josh",
"timestamp": "2016-05-13T22:30:45",
"content": "You don’t really need to use a *seperate* ground for the isolator to work as intended . Ground is simply a reference for voltage; if the circuits aren’t connected by anything other than ground it’s fine.I’m a bit perplexed as to why he is using an isolator for a 5v DI though.. – It would make complete sense for a 12, 24 or higher voltage DC.With a couple modifications it could be used for AC also.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "3096605",
"author": "Mauricio Colmenero",
"timestamp": "2016-07-22T00:33:30",
"content": "I was reading the project documentation and there is a part were you explain “..LED1 is in series with the coil..” Could you please confirm how is that? By looking at it I thought the coil was in parallel with LED1 and R13.Thanks for sharing your project with the community, people like you make the internet a better place.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "3096615",
"author": "Josh",
"timestamp": "2016-07-22T00:57:24",
"content": "You are correct. The LED and resistor are in series, parallel to the coil.Don’t forget your reverse biased flyback diode.",
"parent_id": "3096605",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "3097967",
"author": "Mauricio Colmenero",
"timestamp": "2016-07-22T20:15:20",
"content": "Thanks for your quick reply.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,197.890252
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/04/meet-mr-clappidoo/
|
Meet Mr. Clappidoo
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Misc Hacks",
"Toy Hacks"
] |
[
"ir",
"leds",
"toys",
"zilog"
] |
[Laurence] tinkers around the house quite a bit, making all sorts of fun interactive toys for his children to play with.
Mr. Clappidoo is a toy that he finished a while back
, which bears a striking resemblance to
one of his projects we recently showed you, Papydoo
. This is not a coincidence, as Papydoo was created after Mr. Clappidoo was built, borrowing many features from his predecessor.
Who is your daddy and what does he do?
It’s a good thing you asked. Mr. Clappidoo uses an IR motion sensor to detect nearby objects, waking up and interacting with whatever crosses his path. He is capable of four different random moods ranging from angry to flirty. He projects these moods by changing the color of his LED-lit eyes as well as playing simple sounds. A balsa wood chest makes up Clappidoo’s body, and he repeatedly claps his
lid
mouth open and shut using a small servo, hence the name.
Like his other projects, [Lawrence] has focused his efforts to ensure that the three AA batteries used to power Clappidoo last as long as possible. He says that with moderate usage the device can run off the same set of batteries for a few months before needing replacement.
It’s a fun little contraption, sure to please the kids. Stick around for a quick video of Clappidoo in action.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOuF3pvDrug&w=470]
| 12
| 12
|
[
{
"comment_id": "390027",
"author": "boku",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T17:34:36",
"content": "And he winks too ;)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390043",
"author": "kaoD",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T18:34:57",
"content": "Oh my god the sounds are really annoying! Looks cool tho.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390054",
"author": "Squintz",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T19:03:01",
"content": "I like it. Kids would love it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390057",
"author": "Alex Parting",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T19:25:32",
"content": "Blitty?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390064",
"author": "Kozz",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T20:03:38",
"content": "I think I’d have preferred sounds from Portal sentries.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390073",
"author": "Mike",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T20:23:10",
"content": "“capable of four different random moods ranging from angry to flirty”I had an ex-girlfriend just like that.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390083",
"author": "zool",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T20:47:00",
"content": "i think if you’re going to call it clappidoo you should have a clap activated mode",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390147",
"author": "privacydude",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T23:10:01",
"content": "nice kindergarten cop/austrian death machine reference, HaD!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390153",
"author": "JeremyC",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T23:35:33",
"content": "Wow, so I posted something similar, but simpler today:http://www.jcopro.net/2011/05/04/the-even-more-useless-machine/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390197",
"author": "Stonehamian",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T01:59:03",
"content": "@zool: Great idea. Perhaps a future project could be sound activated.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390242",
"author": "octel",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T04:40:05",
"content": "Reminds me of Robie the coin-eating robot, from way back in the day",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390424",
"author": "Alan Rochester",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T13:16:26",
"content": "clappy-doo , clabby-doon (Scot) a large black mussel(C19: probably from Scottish Gaelic clab enormous mouth + dubh black) –http://dictionary.reverso.net/english-definition/clappy-doo…A Horse Mussel…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,197.998539
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/04/usb-keyboard-prankster/
|
USB Keyboard Prankster
|
Kevin Dady
|
[
"Microcontrollers"
] |
[
"keyboard",
"prank",
"usb"
] |
Being a long time prankster, [cyclonite] came up with this pretty clever hack in an
old USB flash drive
.
The drive was removed from its case, and the stock memory and controller was removed. On the back, an attiny 2313 is glued to the pcb, while resistors are swapped to work with the VUSB library. Wirewap wire is used to jumper all the needed points to the new micro controller on the back, and a temporary ICSP header was fitted on the end to load software.
What your’re left with is an innocent looking usb drive that, when plugged in, sets itself up as a keyboard then proceeds to toggle the caps lock on your victims computer every few minuets. Classic.
Join us after the break for a quick video.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYB36Ds8Y8Y&w=450]
| 26
| 26
|
[
{
"comment_id": "389981",
"author": "t11r",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T15:08:33",
"content": "Nice trick to play on your coworkers :)to bad the video is blurry and only has readable text in fullscreen, maybe use a bigger font in notepad?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389982",
"author": "Will",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T15:10:12",
"content": "Pure WIN. Must duplicate….",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389989",
"author": "Ray",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T15:19:38",
"content": "“proceeds to toggle the caps lock on your victims computer every few minuets.”Wait… They have to be dancing for this to work? :D",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389994",
"author": "Hendi (dg3hda)",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T15:33:06",
"content": "Had been here before:http://hackaday.com/2008/04/01/random-usb-caps-locker/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389995",
"author": "Ezra",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T15:33:17",
"content": "I did something like this with the Teensy (http://www.pjrc.com/store/teensy.html)Using there keyboard/mouse library.In addition to caps lock it would also move the mouse randomly at times, press the home key and scrol the window down.I put it on a co-workers computer when he was on vacation. It was great fun when he got back watching him try to figure out what is wrong with his KVM.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390001",
"author": "john",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T15:46:54",
"content": "prankster“hey- want a free thumbdrive?”victim“sure! (plugs it in) hmmm, my computer does not seem to think it is a thumbdrive. (?)”prankster“(hehe – this is so great!)”victim“hey- why is my caps key toggling? maybe, by the powers of obvious deduction, that broken thumbdrive is the problem. (unplug, toss)”prankster“hey! don’t throw that away! i burned my fingertips making that!”victim“making that? you mean you made a gadget and are pranking me?”prankster“(smirking)”victim“(facebook unfriend) (picks up phone) hello, security?”",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390003",
"author": "Kiri",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T15:55:35",
"content": "It would be cool if there was a way to maintain flash drive functionality.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390007",
"author": "JS",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T16:28:12",
"content": "It can be less obvious if its plugged directly to the usb connectors (directly to the pins) on the motherboard, where it can be left unnoticed for years.As a bonus it’s a more easy build.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390008",
"author": "Whatnot",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T16:29:18",
"content": "The flaw here is that windows and PC’s in general are so quirky that we all would try removing a flash drive to solve unrelated issues, it makes sense in the world of computers to try the illogical :)I know I had devices plugged in causing issues that you would not think could possibly be related.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390009",
"author": "dbear",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T16:30:50",
"content": "I found a key plugged into my computer at work one time. It didn’t seem to be a memory key. I flushed it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390016",
"author": "Paul",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T16:51:23",
"content": "With a Teensy and the SD adaptor soldered on, you could make this keyboard prank AND have it be a flash drive at the same time. Admittedly it’s only 12 Mbit/sec, but it would pass the “hey, this thing isn’t a disk” test.The programming required would be just a few lines in Arduino. With Teensyduino installed, the ‘Tools > USB Type’ has the option for a USB disk with SD card media and simultaneously a USB keyboard. :-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390017",
"author": "jeicrash",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T16:53:41",
"content": "Quick autohotkey script would be less noticeable, and less expensive, but for a weekend project and some re-programming this has potential.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390022",
"author": "Squintz",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T17:15:19",
"content": "This is great. I want one.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390028",
"author": "klaute",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T17:43:08",
"content": "I’ve also build sth like this…http://klautesblog.blogspot.com/search/label/HackStickBut it’s a bit more configurable.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390033",
"author": "Booker T. Worthington",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T18:01:33",
"content": "@editors, learn how to spell “minutes”@Paul better yet, add a USB hub chip and actually have two high speed devices :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390035",
"author": "fartface",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T18:12:25",
"content": "http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/electronic/ae83/Dirt cheap and far more maddening",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390037",
"author": "fartface",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T18:19:21",
"content": "“I found a key plugged into my computer at work one time. It didn’t seem to be a memory key. I flushed it.Posted at 9:30 am on May 4th, 2011 by dbear”that’s retarded.. Software unlock keys are like that, you probably cost the company several thousand dollars because of your lack of education.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390044",
"author": "Paul",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T18:35:43",
"content": "@fartface – I believe you’re missing 2 concepts here…. Humor & DIY Hacking.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390049",
"author": "troylanes",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T18:50:48",
"content": "Nice prank. I’ve done something similar, however, note that this only works on Windows. On OSX and Linux (AFAIK) caps-lock seems to be keyboard specific.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390128",
"author": "davehillier",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T22:21:42",
"content": "The same technique has been covered a few times over the last couple of yearshttp://hackaday.com/?s=capslocker",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390130",
"author": "wisdom",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T22:27:44",
"content": "It is hardly funny for the victim, or the company with the lost IT time mopping up your mess.Any good company policy or employment agreement would prohibit such malicious activities and list it as grounds for summary dismissal.Have fun on the unemployment line.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390274",
"author": "tenfingers",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T06:57:05",
"content": "WHat! i’VE BeEN trYING tO FIgure oUt WhaT wAS gOiNG oN wITH My KEYboard.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390516",
"author": "Daniel",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T16:01:57",
"content": "That will teach him to go on vacation.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390590",
"author": "john",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T19:09:55",
"content": "“I found a key plugged into my computer at work one time. It didn’t seem to be a memory key. I flushed it.Posted at 9:30 am on May 4th, 2011 by dbear”that’s retarded.. Software unlock keys are like that, you probably cost the company several thousand dollars because of your lack of education.Posted at 11:19 am on May 4th, 2011 by fartfacesoftware unlock keys cost several thousand dollars? what are you- rainman?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391306",
"author": "meany",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T15:19:55",
"content": "you know what would be cool, if someone could develop a similar project using a microontroller or a standard usb drive and that when attached to the “adversaries” machine would take control of their webcam and desktop session and be able to record/broadcast live on a given hTTp link on the internet at the command of the victor.!!, i have it part working , any hints and ideas could come in handy.!!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393317",
"author": "John",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T11:20:13",
"content": "I am interested in someone coming up with a device that would make a random shrieking squeal anytime a certain key is pressed. Ideally, it would randomly choose from a few different squeals in sound and length.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,198.122725
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/04/led-matrix-helmits-inspiried-by-you-know-who/
|
LED Matrix Helmits Inspiried By You-Know-Who
|
Jesse Congdon
|
[
"LED Hacks"
] |
[
"Arduino Pro",
"costume",
"daft punk",
"leds"
] |
Here is a
post
from [John’s Projects]. For the insane, satirical, and incredible 2011 Omaha
Groundhog Prom
[John] and his buddy fabricated helmets reminiscent of our favorite robot rockers. [John] needed something harder, better, faster, stronger than the competition and wound up creating LED matrices that mount behind aerodynamic motorcycle helmet visors.
The helmets were constructed in about a weeks time and in a similar fashion to the real helmets. [John] sourced some cheap motorcycle headgear and mounted the LEDs, their driving transistors, and ballast resistors to a 1/32″ (flexible) plexiglass sheet that sits face to face with the wearer. [John] walks through the whole process starting with a half inch grid drawn onto a paper template. The template is cut from the plexi using tin snips, then LED holes are carefully drilled in the thin plastic using various bits up to 13/64″. The 90 some odd LEDs are, one more time, fitted then hot glued in place and soldered in vertical columns to simplify things and prevent any short circuit. An
Arduino Pro
(via common emitter 2n2222 on/off circuits) provides some digital love to the 18 LED columns and is connected to a Velleman Sound-to-light kit which modulates the brightness of the whole visor based on da funk. Two pots are also wired to provide sensitivity and pattern selection to the human after all.
We can’t imagine the technologic setup is fresh after being subjected to the steam machine, high life, and whatever else for too long. Oh yeah, Some brighter LEDs could give the helmets night vision and make the whole thing come alive with emotion. Something about us is burnin to know what powers the helmets. Nice work [John]!
If you are looking to do some homework on these high fidelity rock’n roll outfits in the prime time of your life check out
this
very detailed
example
, a helmet
construction video
, or finish the costume off with some
EL wire
.
Check out some videos of these superheros rollin’ & scratchin’ after the jump!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzHQuwTD4rQ&w=470]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGzPo0fAWR8&w=470]
| 17
| 16
|
[
{
"comment_id": "389967",
"author": "Roboguy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T14:29:25",
"content": "Way to show some Emotion, Jesse!I guess the people at Hack a Day are Human After All.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389968",
"author": "Michael L.",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T14:31:48",
"content": "haha, nice.I love how the helmets look but I wonder if they can see through the LEDs. It’s also pretty funny how daft punk songs are scattered throughout the article.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1053251",
"author": "Geebles",
"timestamp": "2013-09-06T14:41:45",
"content": "Impressed with how many they crammed in!",
"parent_id": "389968",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "389970",
"author": "Tom",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T14:40:00",
"content": "I see what you did there.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389990",
"author": "obsoehollerith",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T15:27:45",
"content": "i wonder what some of those patterns do to your balance and motion ques after a while… when you take it off, do you immediately fall down and bounce your melon?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389991",
"author": "obsoehollerith",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T15:30:16",
"content": "Perhaps an overpowering urge to run backwards?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390002",
"author": "Jesse Congdon",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T15:53:15",
"content": "I guess you’d have to be careful not to set it to the brainwasher setting.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390004",
"author": "KanchoBlindside",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T16:08:46",
"content": "Anyone else tired of seeing these? It’s been done to death already. The original wasn’t even interesting.B F DHackaday, not fanboiaday please.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390012",
"author": "sm10sm20",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T16:37:25",
"content": "@KanchoBlindsideNo, not even a little. Something about the Daft Punk style and feel really cannot be found anywhere else. It would be near impossible to mistake even a half-assed Daft Punk style helmet, its just so recognizable and unique.Just my opinion of course.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390013",
"author": "dontpanic",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T16:37:54",
"content": "@KanchoBlindside: I couldn’t agree more. Daft Punk are a sellout electro-pop band now, so why are they so loved by hackers still? And the helmets… not original even by Daft Punk. They’re like the iPod: sure it was the most popular MP3 player, but it wasn’t the first.And the summary… I ground my teeth down just trying to get through it… and now I have a bunch of crappy “unce-unce” music in my head. Time to play some LCD Soundsystem to cleanse my pallet.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390023",
"author": "Noodle",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T17:23:13",
"content": "Jeez! I love Daft Punk, but that was cringe!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390047",
"author": "Necromant",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T18:41:21",
"content": "Ehh, cool, but what can it be used for?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390050",
"author": "IJ Dee-Vo",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T18:53:04",
"content": "@Necromant to be cool. you may as well ask that of all works of art. How dare they use up materials for things that are just coolI love these helmets. Hope to see more.@haters. On no! people are spending thir own time and money for things they want to do. How dare they!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390058",
"author": "n",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T19:32:29",
"content": "I enjoyed counting the Daft Punk song references",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390185",
"author": "jh",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T01:09:56",
"content": "am I tired of these? no.MOAR!!!!!hehDP references FTW",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390232",
"author": "MDude",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T03:51:21",
"content": "I wonder how hard it would be to make a helmet with a Sniper Joe look to it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390663",
"author": "Andy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T22:40:32",
"content": "Now i’m just waiting for a microphone and for them to move the lights in time with the music.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,197.949948
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/04/real-time-robotic-arm-control-with-blender/
|
Real-time Robotic Arm Control With Blender
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Arduino Hacks",
"Robots Hacks"
] |
[
"arduino",
"arm",
"blender",
"python",
"robot",
"servos"
] |
Last year, [Justin Dailey] was coming down the home stretch of his senior year as a Computer Engineering student and needed to build a final design project.
He always wanted to construct a robotic arm
, and figured that there was no better way to legitimize such a project, than to claim that it was “homework”.
While he originally wanted to control the arm with a joystick, he had been messing with Blender quite a bit leading up to his final project, and thought it would be pretty cool to let Blender do the work. He started out by testing his ability to control a single servo with Blender, then slowly increased the complexity of the project. He prototyped the arm using cardboard, and satisfied with his progress thus far, began constructing the arm out of aluminum.
Once he had all six of his servos attached to the arm’s joints and wired to his Roboduino, he got busy constructing a 3D model in Blender. Using a few Python scripts, the movements inside Blender are translated to serial data in real-time, which is relayed to the Roboduino in order to control the arm.
Check out his site if you get a chance – there’s plenty of code to be had, as well as several videos of the arm in various stages of construction and testing.
| 13
| 13
|
[
{
"comment_id": "389943",
"author": "EFH",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T13:12:53",
"content": "That is sweet. Nice project!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389946",
"author": "jeicrash",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T13:15:07",
"content": "Now to design some type of tangible controller for blender (aside form kb and mouse)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389950",
"author": "blue carbuncle",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T13:33:14",
"content": "I thought he made it FROM a blender when I read the title lol. I got all excited and started eyeing the wife’s beauty in the kitchen. Alas, congrats on getting the project done! I’d recommend Lirc or WinLirc with girder to do an IR remote interface with little hassle ;) as you just remap you current keystroke commands as IR macros.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389952",
"author": "NoMoss269",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T13:41:46",
"content": "These guys are pretty polished, but still super-open. All of the software is free.http://www.robothespian.com/technology/programming.html",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389953",
"author": "twopartepoxy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T13:44:25",
"content": "I cannot find the words to express how excited this makes me!Blender, Python, Arduino, all open source and all beautiful. Together? Its basically the A-Team.Hats off Justin, really nice work.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390010",
"author": "doubleup",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T16:34:46",
"content": "Nice to see this project. I like the construction of the arm, it is inspiring. I think I could get some strips of aluminium, some 1″ standoffs (not sure where to get THOSE), and then some nuts and bolts.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390015",
"author": "Setatx",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T16:50:27",
"content": "Can’t wait to do something like this as a project eventually ^_^",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390020",
"author": "darkshadow6921",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T17:03:30",
"content": "I read “Robotic Arm Control with Blender” and my first thoughts was, finally a robotic arm to mix drinks for me!so while this article is neat, I am still kinda disappointed.cocktail anyone?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390041",
"author": "N0LKK",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T18:33:09",
"content": "Nice project, but it would have been great to see it perm a simple task, or did I over look a video? I seen the video putting the arm through it’s motions, but not picking up an object from on point, and moving it to another. The arm movements seem not to be the most smoothly controlled. Is that a function of the software, or of the mechanical construction and/or limitations that comes with the servos used? In the end it proves Justin’s ability to write software to control an electrical/mechanical machine, and to build that machine. Mission accomplished, surely it earned him a better grade.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390048",
"author": "aegis3d",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T18:43:54",
"content": "WOW!Think of the possibilities, blender auto inverse kinetics IRL!This gets me very exited! :D",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390052",
"author": "Trav",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T18:59:14",
"content": "Cool! Wouldn’t mind seeing the reverse either. Using a robotic arm with pots instead of servos, translate the movement into actions in Blender. Just think, a “real-time” CGI puppet. Probably already done in Hollywood, but build-able by the average hacker -cool. I love open source too.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390056",
"author": "Peter S.",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T19:24:50",
"content": "Awesome project. I’ve modeled a couple of robotic limbs in Blender at various points, and rigging them properly and then being able to play with them and see them move and follow IK targets in a natural way is always fun.Trav: Yep, already done by Hollywood. :)Back when they were making the first Jurassic Park movie, they switched from stop-motion to CG mid-way through production. The animators they had brought in from Phil Tippett studios for the stop motion were more experienced character animators than the CG people from ILM, so they were kept on the project.But because the animators weren’t used to computer animation, they came up with the “Dinosaur Input Device” — a small posable dinosaur skeleton hooked up to a computer, which could be used to manipulate the armature of the 3D model. There’s lots of info and photos on the net if you search.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "509975",
"author": "sunix",
"timestamp": "2011-11-16T11:38:29",
"content": "what kind of plastic material should i use if i want to build a simple robot arm?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,198.174455
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/03/old-computer-parts-demonstrate-how-particle-accelerators-work/
|
Old Computer Parts Demonstrate How Particle Accelerators Work
|
Jesse Congdon
|
[
"Misc Hacks"
] |
[
"physics"
] |
[Ameres Valentin] writes in to let us know about his DIY
particle accelerator model
. The model, made mostly out of old computer stuff, mimics a linear high-energy particle accelerator which use drift tubes to toss particles around. Drift tubes work by first attracting a particle (in this case, ball bearing) until it crosses a charged plate (in this case, coil), then flipping the charge polarity and repelling the particle. In this case the accelerators function more like a multiple
coil gun
, as they can’t exactly push the bearing away. Regardless of the specifics the model is an excellent visual aid.
As the bearing rolls along the rails of the CD spindle it shorts bits of foil tape placed just ahead of the magnets. This (appears) to flip a relay that switches on the magnet. Once the magnet coil is energized it pulls the bearing towards its center, accelerating it. The foil stops just before the point where the magnet would pull back the bearing. We are not sure if [Ameres] is using any trickery to get the magnets to individually power, as schematics are not available. The circuit should be simple enough to figure out with a couple relays. In the video [Ameres] adds a lamp to the coils to display when they are powered. Nice work! This could make a fun
distraction
desk accessory, better than those clicky Newton’s cradles.
Check out [Ameres]’
site
for a video of the model in action.
| 12
| 12
|
[
{
"comment_id": "389595",
"author": "brad",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T11:49:14",
"content": "i’m sure listening to a ball bearing run around a plastic dish would get old just as quickly as a Newton’s cradle.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389614",
"author": "Tim",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T13:30:30",
"content": "Why not use clear plastic so you can see it?BTW, second comment (:",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389621",
"author": "Panikos",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T13:57:38",
"content": "His blog has quite a few interesting hacks actually. Wish he would add more details on them though.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389628",
"author": "brad",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T14:47:44",
"content": "@timif you go watch the video, you can see where the ball bearing travels. it runs right on top of the plastic; nothing is covering it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389640",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T16:15:29",
"content": "Also, no one gives a crap about when you posted.Post well and that BS no longer matters.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389642",
"author": "pferland",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T16:17:26",
"content": "A nice hack, but were are the schematics and details? This is not like the usual Hack-a-day things we see…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389645",
"author": "Andrew",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T16:28:58",
"content": "I was going to do something like this. See how fast I could get a ball to roll then user a kicker magnet to release it. like a compact coil gun.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389677",
"author": "Mike",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T17:43:36",
"content": "@strider_mt2k – i was jealous when I read that Tim was second…It would be nice to have some schematics…but the build looks pretty straightforward already…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389683",
"author": "ftorama",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T18:04:26",
"content": "Actually, you can see two pieces of metal under the lamp. The ball simply makes a contact to switch on the light.To accelerate particles at low energy, you can permanently drive the magnets. Even synchrocyclotrons are synchronized to the particle (to compensate relativist gain of mass) but through AM and mainly FM modulation",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389776",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T00:24:13",
"content": "FMNo static at all…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389915",
"author": "ftorama",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T11:09:18",
"content": "@strider_mt2kAM modulation was present on the Synchrocyclotron I worked on.The AM modulation was giving a boost to help starting acceleration. Then envelop was constant, then the envelop was slowly decreasing before beam extraction. So we’re both right. AM was not directly involved in synchronism but it was used…and usefulAll of this was on a SC200 Philips synchrocyclotron bought by Irene Joliot-Curie (Marie’s daughter) in 1955 and strongly modified by IPN (Nuclear Physics Institute in France).When I worked on it, the accelerator was re-used for protontherapy",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "400153",
"author": "anybodysguess",
"timestamp": "2011-05-31T14:56:51",
"content": "So I built one from what I saw in the video.I tried it without a relay to begin with but what I found is that with 9 volts going through the rails the sparks sort of weld the ball to the tracks, they don’t stop it but they slow it down alot. So he is probably using three volts through the rails to turn on the light bulb and the relay, the relay then gives the full 9 volts to the coils.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,198.057992
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/02/adding-remote-touch-control-to-the-kaoss-pad/
|
Adding Remote Touch Control To The Kaoss Pad
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"digital audio hacks",
"iphone hacks",
"Musical Hacks"
] |
[
"guitar",
"iphone",
"kaoss pad",
"max msp",
"midi",
"touchosc"
] |
[Munki] enjoys using his Kaoss Pad MIDI controller to add a new dimension to his music while playing guitar. The only thing that bothers him about the Kaoss Pad interface is that it can be difficult to trigger or alter effects in the middle of a bitchin’ guitar solo. He started looking around to see if there was a way to control the Kaoss Pad wirelessly via a touchscreen
and found that with a little tweaking, his iPhone was a perfect candidate for the job
.
He grabbed a copy of TouchOSC from the AppStore and configured it to communicate with his computer. After building an interface for his iPhone, he taped it to his guitar and gave it a try. Everything seemed to work pretty well, but he didn’t stop there – he also wanted to control Ableton Live and Max MSP from his iPhone. It took a bit of research and some tinkering with the Live API, but he eventually got everything working together nicely as you can see in the video below.
If you are interested in trying this out yourself, he has several useful links throughout his article, and he has made his TouchOSC/Max MSP patch available for download as well.
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/23049259 w=470]
| 8
| 8
|
[
{
"comment_id": "389397",
"author": "Brett W. (FightCube.com)",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T22:58:18",
"content": "I’ve used TouchOSC a lot in the past, it’s a great app.Just thought I’d mention it might also be pretty easy to use this apphttp://ciaoapp.com/…with an Arduino and Midi Shield to do something similar, possibly even with ease.I’m still evaluating the Ciao app to see how EZ is really is to use, which if it is… then the $4.99 app price is nothing. TouchOSC was $2.99 when I purchased before, but requires more custom software interfaces.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389426",
"author": "Don",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T00:46:48",
"content": "Pretty Cool Setup:) Still, looks a little hard for me to use, with such a small screen. Also, I don’t have a Mobile Phone of any kind, either. I wonder if I could get the same EFX by using the MIDI function on my Vamp-2?Don",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389457",
"author": "jeicrash",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T02:53:24",
"content": "I have had several questions like this since posting my KP3 videos, Love most stuff made by KORG and glad to see someone making this little device more useful. Now for a free alternative for Android based phones and I can join in :P.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389577",
"author": "Munki",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T10:15:30",
"content": "Hello, yeah I also thought about using the arduino combined with midi and wifi shild. With this setup it would be possible to do it without PC. The only reason I dodn’t continue this was the expensive Wifi shield.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389583",
"author": "Liam",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T10:49:06",
"content": "Nice stuff!This is exactly the next kind if thing I was going to try and acomplish next… nice to know its working.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389860",
"author": "WeRd",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T06:09:08",
"content": "I have a similar setup i put together a year or so ago, however no pc and no iphone. The wireless device is a hacked touchpad with an arduino acting as PS/2 host which transmits between two nrfs – the latter of which is mounted to another arduino in a stompbox. The box has 8 buttons and 3 large pots and spits midi data out to the KP3. Helps with sampling on the fly at live gigs. Check out DS3 on Facebook or youtube for some vids.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389864",
"author": "WeRd",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T06:16:33",
"content": "The idea of using an iphone/ipod to xmit XY data to the Kaoss Pad is pretty sick tho as you could easily use it to store and transmit samples to and from the kp3 as well – would just need to rig up some rcas to go to the line in and outs on the korg….making the audio transmission wireless would prob not be so difficult a task either..",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395744",
"author": "Worldwide",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T20:06:32",
"content": "IS IT POSSIBLE to somehowcontrol guitar with xy pad without converting the line signal into midi?You know there is that ampkit link device and software, where you can use your iphone as a processor (they have delays, compressors, overdrives). Is it somehow possible to hav e this tipe of guitar xy controlling?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,198.368548
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/02/quick-hack-disables-ipod-dock-auto-standby/
|
Quick Hack Disables IPod Dock Auto-standby
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"digital audio hacks"
] |
[
"dock",
"dso",
"ham radio",
"ipod",
"oscilloscope"
] |
[Aaron] wrote in to share with us
a quick hack that has made his life a little easier
. He bought a Rocketfish RF-HV3 portable iPod dock to listen to his music, but he wanted to utilize it as an alarm clock as well. He also found that the speakers worked quite well when he hooked up his Yaesu handheld transmitter to the dock.
The only problem he had with it was that the dock would automatically power down when there was no input for 5 minutes. That’s fine when the dock is running on batteries, but if [Aaron] was going to use it as an alarm clock or to listen to his HAM radio, that simply wouldn’t do.
He pulled the dock apart and started poking around with his DSO Nano scope. He found that if pin 16 stays low for 5 minutes, it turns off the dock even if there is a signal coming through. His fix for the problem was actually quite simple – all he did was solder the VDD pin to the pin in question, and the 5-minute timeout was disabled.
We’re glad that [Aaron] was able to solve his problem in such an easy manner – it just goes to show what you can do with a scope and a few minutes’ time.
| 11
| 11
|
[
{
"comment_id": "389358",
"author": "DM",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T21:18:38",
"content": "So it won’t go on standby when using battery power anymore? If so, a little more poking around could have yielded a solution to disable standby only when using wall power. Thoughtful hack nonetheless.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389370",
"author": "Chris",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T21:38:56",
"content": "Sounds like it powers off after 5 minutes if there isn’t an iPod plugged into it, regardless of wall or battery power. Good sleuthing!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389389",
"author": "cde",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T22:42:16",
"content": "Throw in a switch, and you can decide when it should go into battery saving mode.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389400",
"author": "Anonymous",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T23:13:30",
"content": "“Throw in an Arduino, and you can decide when it should go into battery saving mode.”Fixed.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389419",
"author": "Tim",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T00:26:16",
"content": "If he doesn’t know the exact inner workings of the circuit, it would be wise to use a 1K resistor to connect logic signals to VDD",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389465",
"author": "Brad",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T03:28:46",
"content": "I wonder what frequencies he’s using to transmit the music. Sounds like it could be technically illegal to me. Unless he was retransmitting music that was an incidental part of a shuttle launch with prior approval from NASA, that is. That would be okay.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389492",
"author": "saimhe",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T05:51:22",
"content": "@TimThe chip being so crudely modded is a generic MCU whose inputs are VDD-safe according to the datasheet. It’s unlikely that the port pin itself might go into output mode and drive low. By the way, its pins are capable of sinking 20 mA and even then vOL stays at about 0.5 V. That corresponds to 200 ohms.Some other part must drive it low. AFAIK even the old weak CD4000 family can’t be overriden by 1K.He could try 1K (yes, a rather safe value) and see if the voltage remains high enough. If it doesn’t, then the only safe way is to cut the PCB trace, too, so that the signal source is isolated.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389598",
"author": "holly_smoke",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T12:08:18",
"content": "@saimheOr simply stop the time out source from running. Probably by just removing a SMT capacitor.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389632",
"author": "fartface",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T15:13:20",
"content": "Crude hacks for nerds, dont in ways you should not do it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389696",
"author": "saimhe",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T18:41:24",
"content": "@holly_smokeYou must be confusing this chip with a ‘555. In some other forum I would call this trolling :)Measuring signal duration is one of dumbest applications of microcontrollers, and they do that very well using only internal resources.If the MCU has little to do and accuracy isn’t important, it could read the pin in a loop and react to a constant value after a certain number of iterations. I’m oversimplifying but that’s the idea.Otherwise some timebase is set up using an internal timer so that an interrupt occurs each N machine cycles with rather high precision. Those ticks can be counted directly if their frequency is already low enough, or the interrupt handler can reject, say, 99 out of 100 ticks to make this system time (available as a global variable) even slower.In both cases the timeout would depend on firmware and, at some extent, on the oscillator. The latter can sometimes be “hacked” — but not stopped.However an analog quantity connected to a microcontroller pin might be appropriate as a solution for analog user input. A variable resistor can be “read” using ADC — but also using a digital I/O pin and a capacitor. Rotary encoders are much more expensive and require two pins instead of one.While variable capacitors exist, they are not suitable for that. (I won’t waste time explaining why.)Of course a fixed resistor or capacitor can, too, be used as one-time builder’s choice. But that calls for specifically well-documented hardware or a DIY kit. This iPod dock is neither.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389728",
"author": "Aaron",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T21:28:03",
"content": "@DM Thanks.@Chris Yea. No matter if its on battery or mains, or has a iPod plugged into it if it isn’t playing music through the speakers then its going to turnoff in 5 minutes.@cde I don’t travel with it, so I didn’t feel like dragging out the dremel and hot glue.@Tim Probably but I tested it with a direct connection to Vcc first and never thought of it. Even if I tried I don’t think i could solder a SMD resistor in there without breaking anything.@Brad I’m not using this to TX, only to output stereo sound from my HT instead of the little mono speaker built into it.@holly_smoke the timer itself is built into the MCU, so I couldn’t disable it. Altho the chip can be reprogrammed, I don’t have the original source to edit.From what I’ve noticed the pin (which can be a analog reference, or analog to digital) is simply tied in parallel to the iPod and line-ins left channel. I’m guessing theres an ADC interrupt that resets an internal timer. And if that timer reaches 0, puts it into standby. Its a guess tho, so far its staying on perfectly fine.Thanks for the comments",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,198.223516
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/02/thrift-strore-hard-drive-enclosure/
|
Thrift Store Hard Drive Enclosure
|
Kevin Dady
|
[
"Peripherals Hacks"
] |
[
"hard drive",
"usb"
] |
[Ken] visited our site looking for case modding stuff a little while back, but more importantly he came back to show off his latest project. Using a jewelry box found at our favorite place, the thrift store, he converted it into a
2.5 inch USB drive enclosure
.
Almost instantly he found that this particular jewelry box is a perfect fit for a 2.5 inch SATA laptop drive. Taking that as a sign he whipped up some acrylic mounts and cut some holes for power and USB . The electronics are provided by another enclosure with a dead drive, again acrylic is used to insulate the drive from the decorative metal box and some rubber washers were used to help cancel out vibrations and noise.
The end result is a classy looking 150gig usb drive that looks nice on the desk, and a little reminder that if your not hitting up your local thrift / second hand stores, you could be missing out on some real gems.
| 8
| 8
|
[
{
"comment_id": "389329",
"author": "Jeremy C",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T20:07:32",
"content": "Dollar stores/Hobby stores have some good stuff for cheap too.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389334",
"author": "JD",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T20:17:26",
"content": "Close, but from the article: “When this jewelry box was headed to the thrift store, I snatched it from certain doom…”He is also selling it for $50 apparently.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389337",
"author": "J Harton",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T20:27:05",
"content": "If you’re just going to just make a cheap external hd box, just buy a cheap one designed for this off the internet and leave the jewelry boxes for who people who want to put jewelry in them.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389375",
"author": "rotgnudju",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T21:54:11",
"content": "dollar store enclosures ftw! this one is like the old rusted cadillac of them. still going strong.btw, who buys second hand HD’s?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389398",
"author": "Rich Decibels",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T23:03:14",
"content": "Hey cool, that’s the exact same enclosure idea I had formy latest project, only I managed to justify throwing a joystick in :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389539",
"author": "Max",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T08:25:46",
"content": "Oh. My. God. Is Sandbenders becoming real…?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389548",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T08:47:23",
"content": "Yes, let’s all follow J Harton’s example and NOT make stuff on the hacking site.Let’s just tell each other stories of how great it was to purchase a thing.o0",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389612",
"author": "mic",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T13:28:04",
"content": "I found a Chinese usb hdd with a laptop ide hdd in it the other day at the salvation army. It said goofy crap like super quick fast mega turbo hard disk on the box. It also informed me that it was also delicious.?!(Wut?).. Got it for fifty cents and it worked.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,198.413402
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/02/scout-the-autonomous-transatlantic-boat/
|
Scout, The Autonomous Transatlantic Boat
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Robots Hacks",
"Transportation Hacks"
] |
[
"autonomous",
"boat",
"gps",
"solar",
"transatlantic"
] |
Sailing a small boat across the Atlantic ocean is quite the daunting task. As many have discovered, it is a journey often fraught with perils, typically ending in failure. A team of four college students decided the best way to get a small boat across the ocean would be to remove the human element from the process,
so they set off to build an autonomous craft to take on the task
.
Like most projects, this one started as a handful of wild ideas exchanged between friends [Dylan Rodriguez and Max Kramers]. As they thought about it more, they decided that turning [Max’s] sailboat into an autonomous ocean-going craft would be pretty awesome, so they got to work. Recruiting help from their friends [Brendan Prior and Ricky Lyman], the project started to quickly take shape, and Scout was born.
Scout is 8 feet long and consists of foam core covered in carbon fiber. It is filled with various electronic components such as a SPOT tracker, a battery bank that will power the boat for up to 25 hours, and the various servos and motors which will be used to pilot the craft.
It’s a rather ambitious project, though the boat is nearly complete – just in time for their launch, slated for May 29th. We’ll certainly be keeping an eye on this project as the launch date approaches – good luck guys!
Head on over to their Kickstarter page
to see a promo video introducing Scout.
| 22
| 22
|
[
{
"comment_id": "389289",
"author": "max",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T18:04:17",
"content": "this would make a nice drug vessel.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389290",
"author": "Vinh Vu",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T18:07:16",
"content": "Wonder if you have to file any paperwork with the Coastguards for permit to launch an un-manned boat like this… hopefully no one shoot it down.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389291",
"author": "spiritplumber",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T18:19:16",
"content": "Awesome! I’ve been wanting to do this for years, glad to see it’s being done right!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389300",
"author": "Iv",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T18:27:17",
"content": "25 hours of battery for a transatlantic trip ? Am I the only one to find it strange ?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389302",
"author": "compukidmike",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T18:34:40",
"content": "@lvbased on the solar panel on top, I would assume that it charges each day and the 25 hours gives it enough to get through an overcast day when it can’t charge.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389306",
"author": "Dylan Rodriguez",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T18:47:51",
"content": "Hey guys-The picture here is just of a prototype that we’ve been using to test our programming. The solar panel here is just running the GPS and other electronics, the motor is driven by a DeWalt battery. The proper solar panels are on their way from Cali and the LiFePO4 batteries are on their way from China.Any questions, shoot us an email atping@kroova.comThanks!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389309",
"author": "bmsleight",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T18:52:28",
"content": "I would have left a donation – but the promo video included a clip of one of the them driving whilst on a phone!Fools!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389312",
"author": "andrew",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T18:57:34",
"content": "If you’ve ever followed the DARPA grand challenge teams, you’ll know that the most successful teams are those that spend a substantial amount of time and money on testing. Just putting everything together days before the “deadline” is a recipe for failure.There website seems too focused on the construction and the end-goal without any mention of testing. They mention a few problems they’ve thought of (getting run over, getting tangled in seaweed, cloudy weather) but you just don’t know what’s going to happen until you put the boat in the water and let it go over night a few times. Just ask Team Red from MIT. They built two cars and landed 2nd and 3rd because the fuel pump in the lead car had unanticipated problems. It’s an ambitious goal but I think they need to push their launch date way back.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389318",
"author": "Shawn",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T19:20:58",
"content": "OMG WOW this is so awesome. Great job guys. Can’t wait to see how it comes out.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389322",
"author": "Jeremy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T19:34:04",
"content": "SPOT? I would have been more excited to see 2m APRS and use of the APRS satellites in orbit for position info. Heck you could send commands to the boat with APRS too. Does anyone know if any of the APRS sats footprint would cover a APRS Igate and the middle of the Atlantic?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389326",
"author": "Tom the Brat",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T19:55:24",
"content": "Too cool!Yes, I thought of doing this years ago, but since I live in Illinois and know next to nothing about boats, Well…I thought it’d have to have a sail as I didn’t think the solar cells would get enough power to actually drive the boat.I’ll be watching the progress.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389352",
"author": "Entrepineur",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T20:50:49",
"content": "Nice idea :) Hope that whales don’t feel hungry when cross with this little boat!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389362",
"author": "Cr5h_0vrdr1ve",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T21:25:21",
"content": "People have been using this technology for smuggling for a while.Next.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389364",
"author": "Bernt Weber",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T21:25:45",
"content": "Other teams have been and are working on a similar challenge. Take a look at the following website:http://www.microtransat.org/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389380",
"author": "D_",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T22:05:46",
"content": "@ jeremy; yes the aprs sats will cover the Atlantic, but only at about 10 minutes each pass. The kind of foot print you have in mind is in the realm of geosynchronous satellites. Other orbits may come close, but not LEO that the aprsats are Beyond that remote control of this sort is not permitted on 2 meters by the FCC. A control station in the US should abide by FCC regulations, and be mindful of the fact that the boat will enter another ITU zone where other regulations will come into play At one time I operated using the packet station on MIR, the LEO birds wiz by fast.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389394",
"author": "Truth",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T22:55:43",
"content": "@max That was the first thing that came into my mind as well.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389532",
"author": "Tim Gremalm",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T08:07:54",
"content": ".. Also, check out the swedish boatbuilder Sven Yrvind (http://www.yrvind.com/).He have many years of experience building and sailing small and sail them boats across the oceans.72 years old and still going strong, he’s building a 4.8m long, 1.3m wide sailboat.He have a great project-blogg! Check it out, he have some intresting thoughts about boat building.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389543",
"author": "jaqen",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T08:34:58",
"content": "agree with andrew, that testing is paramount. There will be a lot of wear on parts, from wind salt water and so on, and noone to make adjustments along the way.it will be more satisfying to send it along across the world after youve tested it with everything you can throw at it, than having it fail as soon as it is out of your reach.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389550",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T08:49:06",
"content": "You almost want to build two.One to test into the ground and one to build the improvements into.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389581",
"author": "ProfP",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T10:27:19",
"content": "Great to see this project taking shape, but kickstarter funding is a bit optimistic – it is a pretty well-worn path. See here:http://www.roboticsailing.org/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389615",
"author": "Bob",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T13:47:30",
"content": "It won’t be the first autonomous boat to cross the atlantic, Scarlet Knight already did it in 2009. It may be the first sailing boat however.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389725",
"author": "Jim",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T21:15:17",
"content": "I think I saw the builder on here – you should check out the salvage laws for unmanned vessels in international waters. If someone sees your boat, they can claim it. Practically speaking, the law doesn’t matter if you can’t tell who has it. Hope you’re considering this.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,198.475353
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/02/3d-printed-strandbeests-made-to-order/
|
3D Printed Strandbeests Made To Order
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Misc Hacks"
] |
[
"3d printing",
"art",
"cnc",
"strandbeest"
] |
If you love Strandbeests but don’t have the patience to build your own,
Dutch artist [Theo Jansen] has you covered
. You might remember him from
a story we ran last year
, detailing his awesome beach-going strandbeest creations.
His beach walkers are typically built out of PVC conduit and plastic tubing, towering over their creator. For the time being however, he is focusing his work on a much smaller scale. [Theo] has recently teamed up with a 3D printing shop in order to offer miniature working replicas of his creations to the public. The current models can be had for $105, which seems like a pretty steep price to us. Then again, these models come fully assembled and are composed of 76 individual pieces, which is nothing to sneeze at.
That said, considering how easily a Strandbeest can be
created with a stack of thick paper and some free time
, we imagine that an enterprising individual could build one using readily available plastics at a fraction of the cost. Anyone out there up for giving it a shot?
Continue reading to see a video of the Strandbeest creation process.
[via
Gizmodo
]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nt8oHv09e_k&w=470]
| 27
| 26
|
[
{
"comment_id": "389275",
"author": "andrew",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T17:23:51",
"content": "Seriously, somebody needs to connect these with a differential so they can turn.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389277",
"author": "andrew",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T17:30:11",
"content": "Does anyone know how that 3D printer works (the one in the video)?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389279",
"author": "mknghorn",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T17:34:01",
"content": "i have the gakken magazine model and am going to use it as a pattern for the mechanics",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389281",
"author": "Jay",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T17:42:18",
"content": "This guy’s ridiculous use of the word “animals” and him thinking these pieces of plastic are something more than just pieces of plastic drives me nuts. He isn’t even crazy in an entertaining way, he is crazy in a sad way that makes people roll their eyes or even feel embarrassed just listening to him talk.Sock puppets have been around for a long time and have duped the human race into continually making more. WHEN the day comes where sock puppets tend sheep for wool, plant crops for cotton, and run mills to stitch together puppets themselves… that will be the ultimate reproduction of the sock puppet. So that this idea doesn’t sound crazy, I’ll estimate that the sock puppets won’t be able to do this for a million years. Yep… not crazy at all now.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389282",
"author": "Brad",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T17:42:56",
"content": "@andrew – I believe it’s called laser sintering.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389283",
"author": "Brad",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T17:43:46",
"content": "@andrew – Yup.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_laser_sintering",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389284",
"author": "Sariel",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T17:49:02",
"content": "@JayYou sound alittle crazy dude, you need to go lay down.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389288",
"author": "whizdumb",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T18:01:06",
"content": "@JayHave a little imagination, it’s called art.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389303",
"author": "andrew",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T18:35:13",
"content": "It’s not novel to think of human practices as being transmitted from person to person and evolving over time. That’s what the concept of a meme is. You can apply it to anything from popular sayings (e.g., That’s hot), religious practices (e.g., kosher), to fashion (dude, that pink shirt is so 2001). In this case the practice is creating a strandbeest.I think the strandbeests are mechanically interesting but they’re becoming a bit of a cliche. Somebody needs to start improving on the design in noticeable ways.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389327",
"author": "egasimus",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T19:58:43",
"content": "@Jay, since when craziness is supposed to be entertaining? Since when being entertaining is worth more than the genius of this man?@andrew. Somebody needs to put ’em to use, that’s what I think. They look so beautiful and otherworldly to me, but I’m afraid that the world as it is is closing in and there’s little room for such things left. Unless it’s entertainment, of course. Somebody (perhaps on YouTube) mentioned using them as wind-powered crop harvesters. That’d be a good use IMO. Riding one in stasis across the wind-swept post-apocalyptic desert we’re going to be left with is also cool.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389339",
"author": "Rik van Schendel",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T20:35:29",
"content": "Theo Jansen is a Dutch artist making these strandbeesten (beach beasts). It is completely legitimate to use the words animals, life or evolution while describing these pieces of art, it is part of the concept. @jay Maybe you take it to literally. @andrew&egasimus The nice thing about art is to inspire people in all kind of ways. For some its just nice and beautiful to watch, others create new things as a reaction etc. etc. Even some might write about it in a reaction to a blog post. This all contributes to the power of the original piece of art. Therefore these strandbeests are more than mechanically interesting.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389349",
"author": "Rik van Schendel",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T20:43:49",
"content": "Question:is $105 still too much when you consider these scaled models as small sculptures instead of mechanical interesting sevices?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389351",
"author": "Rik van Schendel",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T20:46:56",
"content": "Sevices = things, big fingers small phone ;)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389359",
"author": "Bitch Tits",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T21:21:24",
"content": "Wow these are beautiful. I especially enjoyed the video on the shop’s website of the Strandbeest being pulled along by a piece of string. They’re worth every penny I think, they’re pieces of art.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389369",
"author": "Jay",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T21:38:48",
"content": "It seems these strandbeests HAVE enchanted everyone. Normally on hackaday 90% of all comments are nit-picking a project, pointing out flaws, or talking about how they did that in 2nd grade… but on THIS post I’m the bad guy for pointing out that plastic on a beach does not an animal make. 3D printers and CNC machines have undergone far more “evolutionary” changes over the years yet no one would talk about them the way this nut talks about these.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389429",
"author": "jim",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T01:11:32",
"content": "Jay, it’s almost like it went straight over your head. They’re alive in so much that a river or a kite is alive.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389437",
"author": "Jay",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T02:03:47",
"content": "Jim, I know that but the why the guy describes them (not only in this particular video) I don’t think HE knows that.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389536",
"author": "cdilla",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T08:20:26",
"content": "@Jay, it’s not that you’re “the bad guy”, just that you have a rather narrow opinion.Personally I know what Jansen means when he says “animals”. I am also sure he know the difference between a strandbeest and a dog. Your assertion that he is sad-crazy is unwarrented.Surely all hackers need something of the artist in them.I’m all for limiting the boundaries to which I open my mind to ideas, but equally, being of too narrow a mind and too literal a critic goes against what I see as the hacker ethic.His creations are wonderful, enchanting if you like, and the idea of combining them with something like the shapeways service is certainly worthy of an article.I’ve been following shapeways since they started up and whilst I agree that their costs are a little high, they have some marvelous pieces on show in their galleries.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389545",
"author": "Max",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T08:43:07",
"content": "I happen to share the same dissenting view. Art? Maybe. Animals/life/evolution? Not even on the same page. A tamagotchi is more of an animal then these things are, and I don’t see PETA cracking down on anyone who dares to remove a battery from one of those.If you want to believe that Vaucanson’s duck is alive, by all means, do. Just don’t try to persuade us less delusional people of that, ‘mkay?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389589",
"author": "egasimus",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T11:11:13",
"content": "But nobody’s trying that, and the only one I see calling them “animals” is Theo Jansen himself, and he’s obviously not a native English speaker. IMO it’s just something that sounds OK in Dutch and doesn’t translate too well in English.By the way, how do such walkers compare to a wheeled vehicle in terms of carrying heavy loads?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389847",
"author": "Rob",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T04:56:43",
"content": "Just a plastic toy, it is creative. But raising to that level, sounds a bit a ridiculous.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389993",
"author": "MDude",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T15:31:46",
"content": "On thing not mentioned in the video is that Theo Jansen also made a pneumatic power and control system for his larger strandbeests, and that they were powered by the wind. The use of 3D printing seems to be a step away from autonomous replication due to the unlikelihood of strandbeests being able to act as 3D printers, but hopefully it will lead to more experimentation rather than just more copying.I think, to have something perform a proactive role in its own replication, the biggest challenge might be identifying and gathering appropriate materials with which to make parts. With only crude touch sensors, a robot would be stuck with jabbing at things to see how soft they are, and more sophisticated sensors would greatly increase the requirements of production.If a robot could identify premade components, then perhaps one that makes money by selling power made with solar cells, acting as a vending machine, or performing some other service could buy and assemble copies of itself. I’ve been thinking of such a thing for a few days, but even if I made one, I don’t know where I’d put it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390947",
"author": "Darrell",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T15:15:32",
"content": "I’m not sure what printer he’s using, but it may be a Z-corp or Stratasys Selective Laser Sintering model. I know it’s not a 3D Systems device unless it’s one of the companies they’ve bought recently.The cost for the item is actually not bad at all, since the plastic material used in the sintering process can get remarkably expensive. I’ve had parts built at a smaller scale, and less intricate for around $300 each.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391766",
"author": "Duann",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T07:06:22",
"content": "Hey Mike,Thanks for posting the article on the Strandbeests.They are 3D printed in polyamide with select laser sintering using an EOS100 machine at Shapeways.On the Shapeways site the material is called White Strong and Flexiblehttp://www.shapeways.com/materials/white_strong_flexibleThe cost is $1.50 per cm3 of material used only and free shipping worldwide on all orders over $25.We are looking forward to seeing further evolutions of the Strandbeest emerge from the polymer dust.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392833",
"author": "Sigg3",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T14:42:32",
"content": "@Jay: The definitions we use of the concept of ‘animal’ or ‘being’ is arbitrary and contingent to our own situation, not all situations every place in the universe (or what would constitute THE animal).Read Calvin & Hobbes.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "489858",
"author": "Bimbo",
"timestamp": "2011-10-25T00:48:21",
"content": "I love calvin and hobbes!also, in response to all who have some misgivings calling them animals, Jansen has a book out that, while a little wacky at some times, provides a very compelling argument for why he considers the Strandbeests animals. If intentions aren’t enough for you, try thinking of what makes up an animal, and finding parallels in the structure of the Strandbeest. It’s surprisingly easy.",
"parent_id": "392833",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "502498",
"author": "Adrian Hum",
"timestamp": "2011-11-07T21:55:42",
"content": "While Theo Jansen will continue to act as “the hand of God” so to speak for his animals, let’s look at this from the point of view of simple life forms. His larger organisms have “survivalistic” capabilities such as turning into the wind and hammering down a spike (see his presentation at TED) they gather and store energy using wind as “food”, and they scurry away from the on coming tide.Un-natural selection happens when Theo deccides they are unfit, and takes them apart. In some ways the way that he describes them is somewhat like Intelligent Design is it not?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,198.542259
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/02/isolation-transformer-101/
|
Isolation Transformer 101
|
Kevin Dady
|
[
"Tool Hacks"
] |
[
"Isolation Transformer"
] |
[Todd Harrison] has released a ~50 minute video covering everything you want to know about
Isolation Transformers
for protecting yourself and your costly equipment. Admittedly I have not given the subject much thought, but if you need to measure high voltages you should probably watch this video.
[Todd] Explains the differences between different types of transformers, including cost, why you would want one, safety and plenty of theory. Whiteboard in hand, all the details are clearly explained. If that’s not enough to convince you, there are some fun “don’t try this at home” experiments that hit the point home.
He has a pretty beefy 8 amp 40 lb monster that cost a fairly large amount, though its worth it to be safe. Unless you think you’re going to need that type of amperage, you wold probably be fine with a smaller model. The product shown in the video is a hospital grade, and requires a mod to make it safe for your bench. [Todd] explains that mod as well. Even if your not planning to do this, its still cool to see a transformer bigger than your hand. Plus it makes a pretty cool sound.
Join us after the break for the video.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11Yve2ijWyk&w=450]
| 23
| 22
|
[
{
"comment_id": "389185",
"author": "Tweeks",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T13:26:27",
"content": "Important stuff for working on things light HV flyback circuits (old TVs, monitors, neon signs, etc).. but it CAN still kill you with the potential from circuit to circuit ground. You’re just not as vulnerable (with isolation) from circuit to earth ground.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389205",
"author": "Tweeks",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T14:09:08",
"content": "BTW… If anyone is considering buying an isolation transformer.. go the extra step and get yourself one of these newer variacs (variable voltage out transformers) that now feature isolation. Variacs are an invaluable transformer with a variable voltage secondary that lets you “dial a voltage” to get any variable AV voltage anywhere between 0-120% of the incoming 110/220AC voltage. VERY handy on a bench!(Warning: more traditional single winding variac/autotransformers DO NOT (can not) provide isolation). Google for +Variac +Isolation to find the couple that do offer this valuable option (usually for around $200)Tweeks",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389214",
"author": "Tweeks",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T14:37:26",
"content": "Wow.. I can’t believe I watched the whole video.. :)Very thorough job Kevin!Tweeks",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389230",
"author": "Kevin",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T15:24:24",
"content": "Transformer bigger than my hand?I see those everyday…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389231",
"author": "Trav",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T15:24:31",
"content": "When working in the video game industry, I always saw these in the bottom of Pinball machines. I don’t know if they were for noise cancellation or for safety, but it was just a 1:1 transformer. Maybe a possible source if someone is looking for one. Find an old pinball machine that is being scrapped for parts.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389234",
"author": "Alex Whittemore",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T15:52:08",
"content": "Don’t most scopes STRONGLY caution the user AGAINST floating them like this?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389235",
"author": "chippy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T15:52:09",
"content": "Good info, but lengthy, ended up skipping parts. Condense it down to 15-20 mins, then the video would have been better!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389250",
"author": "Alex Whittemore",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T15:56:24",
"content": "Tektronix’s take on floating scopes:http://www.tek.com/Measurement/App_Notes/Technical_Briefs/tds3000-float/eng/limitations.html",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389256",
"author": "veneficus",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T16:29:19",
"content": "Great info, but I too thought that it is too long. I think the first part of explanation was unnecessary since same topic has been shown on the white board.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389260",
"author": "Anonymouse",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T16:33:50",
"content": "You can build an isolation transformer from two microwave oven transformers. Just connect the high voltage windings together. If you prefer to avoid the presence of high voltage, You can cut the welds holding the core together and replace the high voltage winding on the first transformer with the low voltage winding from the second. Add a few turns to each winding to reduce magnetizing current and improve regulation.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389273",
"author": "Paul",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T17:12:15",
"content": "Alex,Yes, and a good link.But in the video he seems to be demonstrating floating the circuit under test and not the test equipment itself.He never once plugged his scope on the isolation transformer.Floating the scope is scary, because depending on what you do with the probe ground clip, you could bring the scope case to a dangerous voltage, making it dangerous to touch the scope.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389293",
"author": "Alex Whittemore",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T18:22:51",
"content": "Paul: Ahh! See, this is what I get for not watching the full video! It looked like he was explaining why floating your equipment is a good idea, but if not that is far less scary. RTFA I guess!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389308",
"author": "Keith",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T18:48:05",
"content": "@Paul, I agree about plugging the scope in to the xfmr as well.Some pretty good info here, but it certainly could be redone and condensed quite a bit.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389313",
"author": "Spork",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T19:05:07",
"content": "Cool video, but yes it was too long. I also felt like I was in a lecture most of the time. A more relaxed tone and less repetition would make this video amazing. The nice thing about video is if I didn’t catch it the first time, I can rewind it an play again.@Paul and AlexIn the video he does say that you should never plug the scope into the isolation transformer, nor should you clip the FG pin on the scope because it is dangerous.He keeps repeating ‘protect your equipment’ because you can accidentally pull large currents through your scope if the ground tie is connected to a high potential. (Short to ground)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389316",
"author": "Alex Whittemore",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T19:16:15",
"content": "@spork:Ahh, now I see: Yeah, in fact, I’ve had that very problem before: A floating ATX supply became internally shorted +12 to gnd. When I tried to probe ground to – and probe to +, I put 100 A through the scope. Luckily it could handle it. The probe wire, not so much.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389412",
"author": "Fallen",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T23:57:16",
"content": "Which makes me wonder, why the grounds of the probes don’t have small inline fuses.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389431",
"author": "Grod",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T01:14:18",
"content": "Seeing a transformer bigger than your hand?– non-inverter based arc welders (every time I open the shed door)– 110/240V step up transformer (every time I walk past the pool)– truck sized transformers (every time I drive past the local electricity distribution station)I seem to remember that pole top transformers are common in the US. There are probably a fair few others that don’t come to mind straight away, but no, they’re not uncommon at all.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389480",
"author": "Cincodemayo",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T05:01:08",
"content": "Thanks for the video. Looks like he has been influenced a lot by Dave Jones(eevblog) and trying to emulate everything, even the way Dave says cya with the hand wave, fast video playback when disassembling, shirt, white board, ….",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389552",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T08:56:01",
"content": "Good eye, Grod.Yeah, big transformers are all over, just well hidden or in unexpected shapes.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389585",
"author": "Simon",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T10:52:40",
"content": "I study power engineering.In the labs at university we’ve got the oscilloscopes hooked up on isolation transformers to avoid the nasty habit of shorting something to ground accidentally when measuring DC-DC converters (and its a fun class because if you fry anything you have to fix it yourself).For the higher voltage AC stuff (motors and such) we usually use isolating differential probes.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "3401547",
"author": "jackenhack",
"timestamp": "2017-02-07T22:01:13",
"content": "You really should talk to your teachers, because you NEVER connect the isolation transformer to the instrument. You connect it to the DUT…",
"parent_id": "389585",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "389610",
"author": "Seb",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T13:15:40",
"content": "nice workbench! tidy",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389835",
"author": "duh",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T04:11:32",
"content": "Great video, um, but it is, um, a little, uh, long, due to the, uh, repetitious, uh, “uhs.”I, uhm, learned in third grade, that uh, saying “uh” is just what, uhm, people do when, uh, they’re not sure what to say when one, uhm, feels inclined to say, uhm, something when, uh, nothing is there to be said.I learned, uh, at the same time that, uhm, ah, it is better, uh, to just pause when when speaking.This works much better. I don’t have to annoy my audience with superfluous and useless noise when I (the speaker) need a bit of a pause, and I don’t waste the breath. When I need to think in order for my next bit of verbiage to be clear, I just stop and think.Just. Wait a second, and don’t say “uhm”. It’s OK — you’re a talented engineer, and I’m interested in what you have to say, and, um, I don’t need you to make noise while you form your thoughts. Just finish your thought, and start your next, and don’t say “uhm” if there’s a gap there.I, um, also understand that it, uh, takes some, ah, time to sometimes finish a thought in detail.Use the time. But be quiet about it. Interested people will, uh, pay attention whether or not you, uhm, make random vocalizations. And uninterested people, ah, will never pay attention, uhm, to begin with, so don’t, uh, worry about them.But, uh, some folks are annoyed at the, uh, the repetition.Do you, uh, know what I mean?(I recently watched a TED Talk with a doctor who said “K?” after every single half-finished sentence, thought, or concept, with such regularity that it would make a very cruel drinking game, K? Um. It’s really annoying, k? I, um, don’t like to, ah, experience this, k?)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,198.623312
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/04/a-weighted-companion-cube-worth-saving-from-the-incinerator/
|
A Weighted Companion Cube Worth Saving From The Incinerator
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"cnc hacks"
] |
[
"blinkm",
"cnc",
"led",
"mill",
"portal",
"video games"
] |
It’s honestly sad that Valve has not released any official Portal-related items to the masses, as a market for them clearly exists. As the saying goes, “necessity is the mother of invention”,
and [Jamie] needed a Weighted Companion Cube in the worst way
.
Actually he constructed his Companion Cube in order to test out some modifications and upgrades he performed on his homebrew CNC Mill. Judging by how the cube turned out, and the fact that he was able to keep tolerances within .005”, we would say that his mill is working just fine.
The cube was designed in Solidworks, and passed through the BobCAD plugin to generate the GCode for the mill. The base of the cube was machined out of a 3” solid block of aluminum, hollowed out on one side to give him access to the cube’s innards. He milled out heart shaped openings on each side, covering them with frosted Lexan.
He added a BlinkM to the mix, mounting it on the cover plate he milled for the open side of the cube. Once lit it cycles through several colors, including the pinkish tone anyone who has played Portal is quite familiar with.
We would say that it’s a great job, but it doesn’t do his work justice – it’s absolutely stunning. We’re not just saying that because we want one, though we do want one…badly.
| 19
| 19
|
[
{
"comment_id": "389923",
"author": "wardy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T11:12:52",
"content": "I really hope Valve are enlightened enough to be cool about it and not (eg). whack him with a C&D). This is so well built, very impressive.Actually, I thought this thing looked huge from first glance. I guessed it was about 12″ on each side. That’s a good indication of the milling and finish quality.Absolutely huge kudos and nerd points for this.Great job.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389924",
"author": "chris",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T11:14:02",
"content": "http://www.thinkgeek.com/mlp/portal/index.shtml?icpg=Carousel_Portal_1",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389927",
"author": "LordRaven",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T11:43:58",
"content": "Is there anyway to get the swd for this?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389934",
"author": "INquiRY",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T12:21:21",
"content": "Where’s the “hack” in that?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389945",
"author": "marcus",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T13:14:31",
"content": "how is there “no official Portal-related” merch?did you even look at Valve’s official store?There’s merch for Portal AND Portal 2.Also, this isn’t a particularly good copy – the corners and edges are all wrong.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389956",
"author": "IJ Dee-Vo",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T14:00:27",
"content": "drools",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390005",
"author": "KanchoBlindside",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T16:14:49",
"content": "Portal is boring, but I like this. Great use of hacked tools to make a neat real-world-imported thing.@marcus; I make items in real life copied from movies and Second Life, but the opposite isnt always possible, hence the popular skilled Second Life scripter/builder group NPIRL (Not Possible in Real Life). Maybe he might be limited with his setup, or it would be too fragile if certain details applied?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390018",
"author": "bitreaper",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T17:00:30",
"content": "Would he be willing to put the design up on shapeways.com for us to buy? He’d make money from it too, so that’d be a win-win for most of us :)I’d love to make one, but I don’t have a mill (yet!) and shapeways offers me a way to get one.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390019",
"author": "bitreaper",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T17:01:24",
"content": "Doh! Stupid me. I forgot. It’s valve’s idea, so they’d come down on any sales.Sorry, brain not working today. Come back later…:D",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390021",
"author": "dirtyD",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T17:06:21",
"content": "The cake is a lie!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390024",
"author": "flip",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T17:28:50",
"content": "I would like to see units in SI",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390040",
"author": "XiuiX",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T18:30:06",
"content": "I would like to see a weighted edgeless safety cube next.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390055",
"author": "Drew",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T19:07:40",
"content": "@wardy I don’t think Valve has or ever would send a C&D for something like this.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390069",
"author": "really?REALLY?",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T20:17:44",
"content": "“It’s honestly sad that Valve has not released any official Portal-related items to the masses, as a market for them clearly exists.”It’s honestly sad that people spout their mouth off without thinking “Hm, I wonder if Valve actually DOES sell things that I might want to purchase” and doing 5 seconds of googling.http://store.valvesoftware.com/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390100",
"author": "Mike Nathan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T21:15:55",
"content": "I’m sorry, the statement might have been a bit misleading, but perhaps I was speaking from my own wants. If you read the first sentence again, just mentally insert “desirable” before the word official.I do not desire to own a piece of Portal clothing, a poster, or a glass – which seem to be the only items available from Valve’s official store. Even ThinkGeek’s offerings are “meh” compared to this cube.Some of us would be interested in items from the game, such as turrets, a GLaDOS figure, perhaps a model of Atlas and Peabody – or like Jamie built, a companion cube.This demographic is left out of the Portal marketing blitz as can clearly be seen by the amount of fan-crafted Portal items floating around online.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390121",
"author": "Haku",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T22:08:31",
"content": "@marcus & really?REALLY?, have you actually looked at the TOTALLY UNDERWHELMING range of Portal 1/2 stuff available?It’s just what the geek/gaming/fan world wants and needs, more logo’d tshirts, mugs, stickers and bloody iPhone covers.Where are the interesting and unique to Portal items? like near perfect replica companion cubes, Wheatley, talking turrets etc.When I heard Portal 2 was coming out and looking at the preview clips I was very much looking forward to it and some decent merchandise, the game is great, the merchandise leaves a LOT to be desired.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390202",
"author": "Jamie",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T02:20:00",
"content": "Hi All –Thanks for the kind comments. I’m not really set up to make lots of them, so I’m only making three – one for me, one for a friend as a gift, and one for display at the SF Open Studios this fall.There are a couple of details that aren’t exact –I didn’t have some of the needed tooling (small chamfer mill…) and figured there’s some artistic license that could be had there.I hadn’t thought about Shapeways – they’ve always seemed pricey (this would be about 14 cubic inches – or 229.418896 cc in si – of material so it’d be $500+ as is)Thanks againJamie",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390425",
"author": "Graven Edge",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T13:19:34",
"content": "Back to the discussion of coolness; now just mask off the edges and such and send it out for some hard anodizing to both get the finished look and make sure that look never fades or wears.Still freaking awesome.Unfortunately I would be tempted to re-enact some of the failures from portal where this cube is involved…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390616",
"author": "Jim",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T20:09:36",
"content": "Face it. You all just want the long fall boots.So do I.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,198.684815
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/03/3d-render-live-with-kinect-and-bubble-boy/
|
3D Render Live With Kinect And Bubble Boy
|
Jesse Congdon
|
[
"Kinect hacks"
] |
[
"3d modeling",
"blob",
"processing",
"rendering"
] |
[Mike Newell] dropped us a line about his latest project,
Bubble boy
! Which uses the Kinect point cloud functionality to render polygonal meshes in real time. In the video [Mike] goes through the entire process from installing the libraries to grabbing code off of his site. Currently the rendering looks like a clump of dough (nightmarishly clawing at us with its nubby arms).
[Mike] is looking for suggestions on more efficient mesh and point cloud code, as he is unable to run any higher resolution than what is in the video. You can hear his computer fan spool up after just a few moments rendering! Anyone good with point clouds?
Also, check out his video after the jump.
[vimeo
http://vimeo.com/22542088
w=470]
| 13
| 13
|
[
{
"comment_id": "389746",
"author": "ArF",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T22:50:04",
"content": "Rendering a solid from a point cloud is a pretty well documented problem. One nice technique is described in this paper from NVIDIA :http://developer.download.nvidia.com/presentations/2010/gdc/Direct3D_Effects.pdfIt’s used to render particle fluid simulations. But can be applied to about any point cloud. As it runs totally on the GPU it’s pretty scalable. I was able to render about 30K particles without any problems using this technique.Hope it helps!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389757",
"author": "macpod",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T23:20:35",
"content": "I really need to pick up a kinect…This would be neat to play with if they could combine it with an app like sculptris.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389767",
"author": "commfreaks",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T23:39:39",
"content": "Is the program written in Java, executed in an Arduino? Maybe that is be the root of the low performance.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389771",
"author": "Taylor Alexander",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T23:51:28",
"content": "I’ve messed with using meshlab for converting point cloud data into usable models. Let me tell you, it can be pretty processor intensive. As in, my nice Core i7 CAD machine doesn’t like doing it.But there has been some work at creating models on the fly from kinect. I’m sure with some clever work it could be done, but unfortunately I don’t know how.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389795",
"author": "taktoa",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T01:23:26",
"content": "Your problem is Processing. Java is wicked slow; you should be using C, C++, or (preferably), Haskell, which compiles to C. Anything that is interpreted, runs in a virtual machine, or uses any execution path other than compilation to machine code will be slow.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389807",
"author": "UltimateJim",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T02:17:00",
"content": "Maybe NURBS instead of Polygons…?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389858",
"author": "Arktos",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T06:04:42",
"content": "He should have waved at the end =)Really cool, and I agree with macpod – I also really need to get a kinect…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389935",
"author": "ferdie",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T12:23:22",
"content": "is it me or must that guy make copy of the sript and put it in a txt file so you dont have to copy it of his site.for all kineck modershttp://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/redmond/projects/kinectsdk/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389954",
"author": "pcl-freak",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T13:49:11",
"content": "Have a look at the pointcloud library (pointclouds.org).",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389971",
"author": "Franklyn",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T14:41:16",
"content": "I think that a really simple way to do it would be to generate the mesh once and then deform it , instead of continuously generating new meshes. If you really want to generate meshes (respond to changes such as people walking in and out of frame) You can regenerate over a couple of time frames and sync the model + skeleton again when a new mesh is made just to correct errors. By dividing the work over updates and deforming existing meshes instead of regeneration the rate should go up considerably.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390031",
"author": "Mike",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T17:52:39",
"content": "@ferdie – you’re right! I’m sorry I’ll get a download up there later this afternoon!@Franklyn – good idea, so just monitor for a change in the object and regenerate that specific area as opposed to the whole thing right? That may take some insane logic but it might be worth a shot.@ UltimateJim – thanks for the advice, I’ll look into how to render NURBS from a point cloud…seems fairly straight forward.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390061",
"author": "Franklyn",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T19:44:21",
"content": "Not exactly, i was thinking more like generating one pointcloud and then using a skeletal structure (that you can track) to basically move the points around instead. But it seems like what you want is more of a realtime 3d scanner.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390103",
"author": "wystem",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T21:20:22",
"content": "Take a look at OpenFrameworks it’s the C++ equivalent to Processing. And some of the libraries processing uses were co-written in OFF.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,198.739757
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/03/marble-machines-roundup/
|
Marble Machines Roundup
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"Roundup"
] |
[
"marble",
"physics",
"solidworks",
"virtual"
] |
[Denha’s] been building marble machines for years and
decided to look a back on some of his favorite marble-based builds
(
translated
). There’s a slew of them, as well as some thoughts about each. Our favorite part is the digital simulations of the projects. For instance, the image above shows a flip-flop marble machine that was built in a physics simulator. This makes it a lot easier to plan for the physical build as it will tell you exact dimensions before you cut your first piece of material. Both of these images were pulled from videos which can be seen after the break. But this isn’t the most hard-core of pre-build planning.
SolidWorks
, a CAD suite that is most often used to design 3D models for precision machining, has also been used to model the more intricate machines.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4uQJ4vxSls
[via
Make
]
| 16
| 15
|
[
{
"comment_id": "389714",
"author": "isama",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T20:20:52",
"content": "fascinating! i’d add a piece of plexi on the front and a chain/belt and a motor on the back and hang it on the wall. could watch it for hours :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389726",
"author": "ZeroCool42",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T21:15:20",
"content": "Just to say, I strongly recommend people visit the original article, this guy has made SO many marble machines.I watched a 10 minute video linked from Make the other day and thought I must have seen all of them, but another one on the site I came across today showed a 7 minute one with still more!@Mike: Personally I would have embedded one of the montage videos with 6+ machines in, but that’s just me!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389741",
"author": "Brett W. (FightCube.com)",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T22:25:14",
"content": "I’ve been a long time Denha viewer on Youtube. Subscribe for lots of cool synthesizer builds too. His creations are amazing!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389754",
"author": "Joel",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T23:14:39",
"content": "Why couldn’t this be done in Legos? Even as I admire the woodwork, I suspect instant gratification and a wonderful teaching hook could be made using Legos.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389755",
"author": "jim",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T23:17:48",
"content": "So relaxing to watch.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389785",
"author": "Àlber",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T00:50:24",
"content": "That’s fascinating! I could stand there for hours watching the beads roll and the mechanisms working…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389791",
"author": "n1elkyfan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T01:12:35",
"content": "anybody got any Idea what he used for a simulation program for that flip flop?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389842",
"author": "Amos",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T04:39:51",
"content": "I want to make some of these out of acrylic, flip ’em upside down, fill ’em with water, and replace the marbles with air bubbles. Now /that/ would be wall-hanging-worthy… or a great addition to an aquarium :D",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389872",
"author": "Max",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T06:51:46",
"content": "@Amos: add some LED’s, change the liquid with some type of clear alcohol, mount a tap at the bottom (possibly itself a source of bubbles), then sell the thing to Johnny Walker & co. or similar. And please don’t forget to send me my 5% – I’m not greedy… ;)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389966",
"author": "ibedazzled",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T14:26:23",
"content": "@n1elyfanits called phun. google it…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390051",
"author": "D_",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T18:54:49",
"content": "I like them. The only reason I couldn’t watch them for hours on end, is of the noise. While it’s rhythmic,it’s harsh.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392829",
"author": "Sigg3",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T14:31:51",
"content": "@n1elyfan & ibedazzled:“Algodoo is our new software and replacement for Phun. Phun was the open beta testing version of Algodoo and as such Phun is no longer promoted, developed or supported.”->http://www.algodoo.com/wiki/Phun",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "3227726",
"author": "Archicgi",
"timestamp": "2016-10-11T11:25:41",
"content": "Good article!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "3271881",
"author": "ufo3d",
"timestamp": "2016-11-15T11:13:09",
"content": "Thank you",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "6167661",
"author": "RealSpace",
"timestamp": "2019-07-27T01:20:36",
"content": "I like them. The only reason I couldn’t watch them for hours on end, is of the noise. While it’s rhythmic,it’s harsh.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "6410908",
"author": "Van West",
"timestamp": "2021-12-31T08:30:18",
"content": "Id love to see a 3d logo printed on it",
"parent_id": "6167661",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
}
] | 1,760,377,198.795457
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/03/building-your-own-router-lift-out-mechanism/
|
Building Your Own Router Lift-out Mechanism
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"Tool Hacks"
] |
[
"closet",
"rails",
"router",
"table"
] |
Adjusting the bit height on a router table can be a pain in the butt. Traditionally you needed to get into the cavity under the table top in order to make these adjustments, and it’s hard to make the adjustment and measure the height at the same time. Modern routers now offer the option to adjust height through a hole in the plate that sits in the router table, but this is usually only found on the more expensive models. Rather than buy a new tool [Urant]
built his own router lift
.
He’s using recycled closet rails to give his rig some smooth operation. These are the rails and runners that let closet doors hang from the top jamb. He saved them when replacing the closet doors in one of his rooms. There’s a triangular gantry which hosts the router, allowing it to move vertically on the three sets of rails. The threaded rod in the foreground of the picture above lets the woodworker adjust bit height by turning the nut at the top. Once mounted in the router table the nut is accessible through a small hole in the table surface.
| 11
| 11
|
[
{
"comment_id": "389705",
"author": "Friction57",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T19:18:10",
"content": "Ooohhhhh!! ROUTER… I thought… you meant… you know, like… a router.Sorry. Got it.Moving on.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389706",
"author": "Sariel",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T19:18:25",
"content": "looks fairly nice and well designed. good job!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389709",
"author": "Brian.Holiday",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T19:29:12",
"content": "Wicked good idea, and I need one. A friend gave me a garage door opener, I might be able to use it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389712",
"author": "fotoflojoe",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T19:52:19",
"content": "He basically built an upside-down Z-carriage for his router table.Nice job and use of reclaimed materials.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389718",
"author": "signal7",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T20:43:17",
"content": "I guess I’m not understanding how he managed to eliminate axial movement of the router. Most closet door hangers aren’t very stiff and it would seem like the side opposite the lead screw (threaded rod) would tend to sag under the weight of the router. Add to that any downward forces during a cutting operation and the effect could be amplified.On the other hand, I did once hear of someone giving a router a bad review online because there was two thousandths of an inch of endplay in the motor bearings. How anyone would be able to even see such a small difference in wood baffles me.I guess if it works to his liking, that’s great.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389761",
"author": "Jelle",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T23:25:36",
"content": "oh, I though the meant the drag of zero-ing the z-asis on a cnc router. But this is about the hand/closet operated device. Meh.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389900",
"author": "CJ",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T09:39:08",
"content": "Easier and probably better as well:http://www.instructables.com/id/Ultra-cheap-router-lift/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389926",
"author": "Brian.Holiday",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T11:43:32",
"content": "@Signal – It is speculation on my part of course, but it seems like axial movement would be minimized by the tension of the wheels against the track. I would assume three acme threaded rods tied together with a belt or gear would be ideal, but a more complicated build.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389929",
"author": "Scott",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T12:10:01",
"content": "@Signal – this was my first thought when I saw this, and it is something that would sneak up on you in woodworking, like the 0.002″ bearing play issue. Since wood is an anisotropic, heterogeneous material on a very small scale, play in end bearings (or in a mounting table) may show up as ripples, bumps or other distortion in precision work since the loading is always changing with the material presented to the bit.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390458",
"author": "Hacksaw",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T14:04:04",
"content": "While it is always nice to see other options I like Matthias Wandel’s router lifthttp://woodgears.ca/router_lift/index.html",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "525817",
"author": "John Kromm",
"timestamp": "2011-12-03T16:26:21",
"content": "Why didn’t you make all the other sites live links?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,198.844794
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/03/led-matrix-glasses-keep-all-eyes-on-you/
|
LED Matrix Glasses Keep All Eyes On You
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"LED Hacks"
] |
[
"leds",
"matrix",
"PICAXE"
] |
Instructables user [llopez-garcia] was looking for something that would make him stand out at music events or clubs, and decided that
an LED matrix built into a set of sunglasses would do the trick
.
He grabbed some LEDs and the biggest pair of sunglasses he could find at WalMart, then he got down to business. He had no experience in programming micro controllers, so he chose a PICAXE 20X2 to run his glasses, figuring that it would be easier to program in BASIC for his first project than C.
He drilled holes in the lenses and wired up two 5×5 LED grids, connecting them to the PICAXE as a single 10×5 array. That setup was chosen because the 20X2 limited him to 15 usable pins and he wanted to avoid using a shift register or LED driver to keep the part count down. The rest of the build is relatively straightforward with resistors in all the right places, and a pair of AAA batteries to power it – one strapped to either temple.
We think these are pretty cool, though we’re not sure if he can see anything while wearing them. Then again, who cares? You don’t need to be able to see with glasses this awesome.
If he had to do it all over again, [llopez-garcia] says he would beef up the LED structure a bit, as well as choose a different micro controller that can be programmed in C since he felt the PICAXE was a bit limited by BASIC.
Stick around to see a quick demo video of the glasses in action.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69aoLjXfhdQ&w=470]
| 17
| 17
|
[
{
"comment_id": "389684",
"author": "Ren",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T18:06:57",
"content": "Just be careful you don’t trigger any seizures with the strobe function! Also you could program them to have show “eyes” [winking, angry, squinting, smiling, rolling & etc.]Nice job!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389691",
"author": "fartface",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T18:31:29",
"content": "Why cant anyone make these that are comfortable to wear and where you can actually see? Everyone is using big old round LED’s someone please use surface mount and some conductive paint to make one that is functional comfortable and does not turn you into Stevie wonder while you are wearing them?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389694",
"author": "Seth",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T18:36:16",
"content": "Cool. I would have added some sort of pause/delay when the animation transitions from one side to the other so the perceived motion of light traveling doesn’t jump the gap, which would create a smother effect.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389697",
"author": "Whatnot",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T18:52:11",
"content": "@ren What nonsense, it’s for ‘music events and clubs’ and I have to assume that’s not Bach recitals and the bookreading club but rather places where people who are that sensitive would not venture anyway.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389701",
"author": "DarkFader",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T19:02:40",
"content": "why not make POV glasses",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389702",
"author": "shmooshoo",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T19:09:38",
"content": "Not sure why he thinks he could do better with a C program. Maybe its just that he could get more code space with a bare micro.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389710",
"author": "someone",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T19:29:43",
"content": "@DarkFader, for head banging?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389713",
"author": "Luis",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T20:10:57",
"content": "Hi! I’m the guy who made these.. The biggest question seems to be whether or not it’s possible to see with them on. Yes, you can see, the led spacing luckily lets you mostly see through them. However since they are sunglasses, you can barely see anything when when it is dark such as at a nightclub / concert…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389732",
"author": ".",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T21:39:27",
"content": "@fartfacepeople want to cover their eyes with lights. you can’t do this if you want to see properly. i understand what you are saying, but i don’t see what your problem with 5mm rounded leds is. you just make tiny bits of paper to shield them from your eyes. also, the emission spectra of leds is not broad enough to make you permanently blind. unless, of course, you use ultraviolet leds, duh.besides, i think the next time i go to a rave i’ll just wear my plasma cutter glasses (shade 5) and save my eyes the stress of all the strobes and such. if someone did this with a cheap pair of welding goggles that would be awesome.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389753",
"author": "blue carbuncle",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T23:09:07",
"content": "@ fartfacehttp://glowproducts.com/batteryoperated/strobesunglasses/I got a few pairs leftover from a cave job I used to work. The el wire snaps out of the glasses frame to make whatever you want too later :) 3 modes iirc.As for the HaD project, I’m sorry but these LED glasses won’t attract any kind of positive attention outside of a cub scout campout. Perhaps you could relink this led grid to an osc and make a diy bassline sequencer with tweak pots for voltage/notes ;) Much more rave friendly.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389770",
"author": "doktorj",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T23:48:24",
"content": "It just needs two pinhole cameras and two small LCDs so you can actually see. You would still be lacking in peripheral vision, but at least you could see straight ahead.@ Mr. Duh: Nobody said they would make you blind permanently… “while you are wearing them.”",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389839",
"author": "HackJack",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T04:36:12",
"content": "Looks just like these:http://retrotoys.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=183",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389868",
"author": "jaqen",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T06:25:27",
"content": "well you can just wear them on the forehead, if you are in the dark where leds would be the most use, you wouldnt be able to see much with sunglasses on anyway",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389877",
"author": "MrTaco",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T07:13:55",
"content": "This is a lot like something I was thinking about making at some point… not that I’ll ever get around to it but you know :P",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389930",
"author": "KanchoBlindside",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T12:16:13",
"content": "Can he see out of them?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390461",
"author": "ltkenbo",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T14:06:25",
"content": "looks like lady gaga",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394754",
"author": "fail",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T11:43:26",
"content": "Umm well could u sell them ?im too lazy to make one ..",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,199.817184
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/03/large-remote-controlled-game-of-life-display/
|
Large Remote-controlled Game Of Life Display
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Arduino Hacks",
"LED Hacks",
"Wireless Hacks"
] |
[
"adafruit",
"arduino",
"conway",
"game of life",
"led",
"leds",
"xbee"
] |
Sometimes it’s just plain fun to over-engineer. [Stephanie] gets a warm fuzzy feeling when she successfully adds way more electronics components to a project than she really needs – just because she can. We can’t really argue with her if that is the intended goal, nor can we find fault with
the sweet Game of Life display she put together
.
She started off with six Game of Life
kits from Adafruit
, but she quickly caught the LED bug and her collection grew until she had 20 kits (that’s 320 LEDs for those of you keeping count). After piecing them all together, they were mounted in a wooden frame and placed behind a dark piece of acrylic. It looked great and worked just fine, but it wasn’t overdone enough for her tastes.
In the end, she added a small Arduino and Xbee module to the Game of Life display, which enables it to be controlled by
her network-enabled thermostat we featured a few weeks back
. The thermostat was fitted with an Xbee unit as well, which allows it to turn the Game of Life on and off at whatever times [Stephanie] specifies.
We’ll take two please.
[via
Adafruit Blog
]
| 5
| 5
|
[
{
"comment_id": "389674",
"author": "pablo",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T17:35:11",
"content": "these kits use a lot of pins on the controller. hmm. I wonder if a version could be produced that charlieplexes the LEDs to add more features or use fewer controllers. Bonus points for making a module that operates with these from the kit.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389687",
"author": "fartface",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T18:16:33",
"content": "Always wished they made a RGB version of that that would have different colored colonies that would “blend colors” when they started breeding with each other….",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389690",
"author": "pff",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T18:27:48",
"content": "20 kits?what do you people do as jobs to justify spending this ridiculous amount of money on something that quite frankly could have been done a lot cheapercant wait to see someone justify it thought!!bracing!!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389698",
"author": "Stryker",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T18:53:03",
"content": "maybe they work for the company and get them free/discounted…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389840",
"author": "grid",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T04:39:21",
"content": "I just assembled a project consisting of over a thousand standard 5mm LEDs, 232 to-92 transistors, 250+ 1/8w resistors, 33 shift registers…. I’m just about done with through hole for life. There are so many component leads in the carpet on my floor it’s insane.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,199.122601
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/03/egg-clock-its-egg-ceptional/
|
Egg Clock (it’s Egg-ceptional)
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"clock hacks"
] |
[
"18m2",
"7 segment",
"egg",
"PICAXE"
] |
Easter is over and with some plastic eggs still on hand, [Franspaco] was looking for something to do with them. He decided to
use an egg as an enclosure for a digital clock
.
You can see that the finished project uses just one 7 segment LED display to show the time. A scrolling number method is used to delineate each digit of the 24-hour time readout. The display will go blank, followed by two numbers for the hours, a dash as a separator, and finally two more digits for the minutes. A PICAXE microcontroller drives the clock, but for accuracy a DS1307 does the timekeeping.
[Franspaco] etched his own circuit board that is sized to fit perfectly, housing the two chips, an LED, and a programming header. The on-board LED blinks at 1 Hz, giving some inner glow to the plastic shell. He accomplished most of his goals, but was unable to fit the batteries inside of one egg, prompting the need for a tethered power-egg. If he moves to surface mount components for the next generation of this device we think he’ll have no problem fitting a small battery (like an A23) inside.
| 9
| 9
|
[
{
"comment_id": "389639",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T16:12:52",
"content": "Well that’s just plain cute.Nice!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389646",
"author": "EFH",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T16:32:22",
"content": "Build quality could be better, but nice little project.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389668",
"author": "Stonehamian",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T17:13:28",
"content": "Cool, interesting idea. I like small, simple projects like this.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389672",
"author": "imp999",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T17:26:53",
"content": "Analog would be way cooler.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389685",
"author": "Ren",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T18:09:49",
"content": "It’s eggzactly 4 o’clock.[groan]It needs an egg timer function.[grin]",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389693",
"author": "otomoton",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T18:36:03",
"content": "Maybe in a future version he can get a small li-ion or something in there and make an inductive charger. He could make a whole dozen and turn an egg crate in to the charging base.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389908",
"author": "twopartepoxy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T10:39:31",
"content": "@Renyou crack me up.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "420223",
"author": "denispax",
"timestamp": "2011-07-20T14:21:31",
"content": "Very interesting and colourfully.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "3503976",
"author": "franspaco",
"timestamp": "2017-04-04T22:54:29",
"content": "Oh, wow, I was 14 back then, I always love finding this article again. Thanks guys!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,199.008651
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/02/flinging-birds-and-slaying-pigs-with-your-thoughts/
|
Flinging Birds And Slaying Pigs With Your Thoughts
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Misc Hacks"
] |
[
"angry birds",
"emotiv",
"epoc",
"games",
"mind control"
] |
[Rafael Mizrahi and Anat Sambol] decided that
Angry Birds was missing one crucial element – mind control
. They grabbed a copy of the game for their netbook and [Rafael] strapped on an Emotiv EPOC headset to see if he could play it without using a mouse or keyboard. While he was able to move the cursor around with his thoughts, he found that Emotiv’s EmoKey software lacked any sort of mouse button support. Undaunted, they turned to the Internet for help and found that he could map the Emotiv’s output to his mouse via another application,
GlovePie
.
As you can see in the video below their efforts were successful, though we doubt [Rafael] will be completely giving up his mouse just yet. With some more refinement, we imagine [Rafael] will be blasting pigs to kingdom come in no time.
If you are interested in trying this yourself, be aware that only the SDK version of the EPOC headset can be paired with 3rd party applications, the standard consumer version is locked into using solely authorized software.
Continue reading if you would like to see a video of their Angry Birds neural interface in action.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDgkZZYSVPo&w=470]
| 28
| 28
|
[
{
"comment_id": "389158",
"author": "Tech B.",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T11:55:35",
"content": "+1 for GlovePieI first came across it when I was working with interfacing with a Wii mote.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389159",
"author": "Ratty",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T11:57:07",
"content": "Hacker uses software and hardware for its intended purpose, more at 10!Perhaps getting the locked-down verstion of the hardware (or software) to work in debug mode just as this does would be quite noteworthy however.Guess it’s my turn to be grumpy.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389160",
"author": "pff",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T11:57:51",
"content": "so this is what it has come to hackaday?i’m building a desk a bought from ikea next week, maybe you want to feature that?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389161",
"author": "Eater",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T11:59:05",
"content": "“…the standard consumer version is locked into using solely authorized software.”Not if you use this:https://github.com/daeken/Emokit",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389162",
"author": "jaqen",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T12:02:21",
"content": "@pff: only if you use another tool to screw it together than the one that comes with the set, because that would be hacking :-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389167",
"author": "Wisefire",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T12:21:41",
"content": "Awesome, love the idea of completing a angry birds level solely using your mind.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389174",
"author": "ZeroCool42",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T12:48:50",
"content": "@Wisefire: Me too!To everyone moaning, I say this: Perhaps this was featured because it might inspire something even more ingenious, or purely because it’s awesome.If it doesn’t interest you, fine, no-one’s forcing you to read, and CERTAINLY no-one’s forcing you to write bitchy comments.I don’t complain when an article isn’t relevant to me, because it’s probably relevant to someone! Yes, this may be an example of using the software and hardware for it’s intended purpose, but it show’s what’s possible with the two, an application that I had not considered. If you had, good for you, but don’t moan about it!So next time you go to complain about an article not being relevant to you, think about if it’s relevant to other’s first. The whole world doesn’t revolve around YOU!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389176",
"author": "sardaukar",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T12:54:59",
"content": "@ZeroCool42: +1 (you tell’em, bro!)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389180",
"author": "Tech B.",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T13:09:52",
"content": "What’s up with all the whiners here?LOL, I’m complaining about the complaining.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389183",
"author": "ZeroCool42",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T13:23:04",
"content": "@sardaukar: Haha, thanks. I know one is not supposed to feed the trolls, but sometimes I can’t resist :P.@Tech B: Agreed. The hackaday staff work hard trying to bring us interesting and inspiring things to read, and I just get annoyed when I see people complaining!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389209",
"author": "Stevie",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T14:26:38",
"content": "I think it was featured cos hackaday has been slow as hell the last week or two and they’re running out of crap to post. Oh well, it was interesting. Kinda.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389219",
"author": "falldeaf",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T15:01:54",
"content": "Nicely said, ZeroCool42. If you’d like a short-cut though, I found this video on reddit:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0la5DBtOVNI",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389229",
"author": "twopartepoxy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T15:23:17",
"content": "don’t see what all the whining is about. maybe its not the most a-team of hacks, but its quite illustrative of some methods that may be of interest to the wider audience for other hacksnmods. i actually like this kind of post, interspersed with other hardcore hacks.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389233",
"author": "ZeroCool42",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T15:41:25",
"content": "@falldeaf: Darn it, why didn’t you tell me that BEFORE I typed all that out? :P",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389261",
"author": "yucomplainguy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T16:44:02",
"content": "I know a few of these guys personally and to all the complainers, it comes down to this:They operate on tips. You send them something and they write about it. Garbage in garbage out.So if you do not like what you see here get off your ass and actually build something instead of bitching about it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389272",
"author": "hawkeyaez1",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T16:58:47",
"content": "So when is this coming to Android for an alternative HID?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389314",
"author": "Eric",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T19:12:23",
"content": "Great idea, and Great project. Keep up the great work. I can’t wait until we all can control our computers without moving a finger, especially typing. Think of the possibilities!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389320",
"author": "sardaukar",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T19:23:44",
"content": "@Eric: yeah, mostly for pr0n :D",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389321",
"author": "Aaron",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T19:25:14",
"content": "“Think of the possibilities!”But carefully, so as to avoid generating spurious control inputs. :D",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389340",
"author": "doktorj",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T20:36:25",
"content": "@ ZeroCool42: I thought you was black man.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389428",
"author": "M4CGYV3R",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T01:00:30",
"content": "I like Angry Birds! I couldn’t kill the pigs with the birds, so I just smashed the phone on the ground and they went away! Sweet! That’s my hack!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389444",
"author": "Mike",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T02:19:07",
"content": "The Emotiv shop sells only to U.S. Any way of getting it to Australia? :/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389446",
"author": "Mike",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T02:26:27",
"content": "Just found out SDK with headset ships worldwide..",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389477",
"author": "CrashOverride42",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T04:41:20",
"content": "ZeroCool42: hehe, totally agree",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389559",
"author": "ZeroCool42",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T09:22:55",
"content": "@doktorj: Heh, I love it when someone gets the reference :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389703",
"author": "DarkFader",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T19:13:24",
"content": "Be the bird… feel angry.Bah. he has the same first name as me too.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389727",
"author": "ZeroCool42",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T21:24:07",
"content": "@DarkFader: Hehe, I suspect you were only joking, but I love the idea of firing the birds by feeling angry!I’m ashamed to admit that despite being a psychology student, I’m not sure if this could be done (at all, let alone with this particular brain-wave reader) though, I’m sure one could cheat and do it by blood pressure or something :P",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389730",
"author": "rafael mizrahi",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T21:31:41",
"content": "The Basic version of EPOC headset (as opponent to the SDK version) comes with a free mapping software which lets you map “thoughts” and “facial impression” to keyboard key strokes. you can use such key mapping to control 3rd party applications.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,199.076465
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/01/papercraft-strandbeest-is-a-great-rainy-day-project/
|
Papercraft Strandbeest Is A Great Rainy Day Project
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Misc Hacks"
] |
[
"paper",
"paperclip",
"papercraft",
"strandbeest"
] |
Here in the Midwest it sometimes seems like Spring will never, well…spring. We get that “April showers bring May flowers”, but nearly all of the last month has been cold and rainy around these parts. While things are improving, we think it’s always good practice to have a few fun projects at the ready, just in case your plans with the kids get rained out.
We think that Hackaday reader
[Dombeef’s] papercraft strandbeest is a perfect idea for a rainy afternoon
. The supply list is pretty short, requiring little more than some scissors, pliers, paperclips, and glue in addition to the thick paper that makes up the body of the strandbeest. The paper is cut into pieces according to the PDF template he includes in his Instructable, secured to one another via small pieces of paperclip.
Once the legs are all constructed, a main axis is built from one of the remaining paperclips, and everything is joined together under the main portion of the strandbeest’s body.
As you can see in the video, the legs work quite well, though the strandbeest can probably benefit from a hand crank in the short term. [Dombeef] plans on adding a small motor to his creation, which should get the strandbeest moving about quite rapidly once completed.
If you are looking for more fun projects to do with the kids, look no further than this
papercraft gyroscope
or these
squishy circuits
.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q78s7UCArqU&w=470]
| 6
| 6
|
[
{
"comment_id": "389000",
"author": "JeremyC",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T01:07:06",
"content": "Hey very cool… Looks like a fun water-jet project too.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389009",
"author": "Crusty",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T01:39:39",
"content": "Hey, you gotta make that thing wind powered!And your first mistake would be to have kids ;-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389017",
"author": "brad",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T01:59:03",
"content": "i had to laugh when i scrolled down to the video. the first pic definitely makes it look table top size.as far as locomotion, a windup mechanism from a car should do nicely. i will definitely be making one of these in the future.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389166",
"author": "t&p",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T12:08:15",
"content": "do some batteries and a cheep electric motor from a RC car or something and this thing could be fun for my cat!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389228",
"author": "jim",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T15:21:09",
"content": "Now, if it was origami we’d have a Gakken overdrive explosion.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389338",
"author": "dombeef",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T20:31:58",
"content": "Please Vote for me in the contest, I tell about why at the end of the instructable",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,199.162026
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/01/racing-wheel-guided-rc-car-with-video-feed/
|
Racing Wheel Guided R/C Car With Video Feed
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Arduino Hacks",
"Toy Hacks"
] |
[
"arduino",
"bluetooth",
"car",
"remote control",
"video"
] |
Instructables user [Kaeru no Ojisan] enjoys constructing R/C kit cars and wanted to build
one that could be driven using a PC racing wheel
he had on hand. Not satisfied with simply guiding it with the racing wheel, he added a web cam to the car so that he can monitor its location from the comfort of his desk chair.
The car is loaded down with all sorts of electronics to get the job done, requiring four separate battery packs to keep them online. An Arduino controls the motor and the steering servos, receiving its commands wirelessly via a Bluetooth add-on. The camera connects to a USB to Ethernet converter, which enables the car’s video feed to be transmitted via the onboard wireless router.
The racing wheel interface seems to work just fine, though we don’t doubt that the whole setup can be easily simplified, reducing both weight and battery count. While [Kaeru no Ojisan] says that the car is in its concept stages and there are a few bugs to work out, we think it’s a good start.
Stick around to see a quick video of the car in testing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idqzfV-16yo
| 12
| 11
|
[
{
"comment_id": "388981",
"author": "Drew",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T23:39:00",
"content": "It’s virtual virtual reality.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388984",
"author": "twopartepoxy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T23:59:06",
"content": "this is very good. looks like fairly common parts were used also. might have a go at this kind of thing at some point.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388996",
"author": "Coligny",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T00:51:45",
"content": "There’s cheap, simple, elegant and efficient way to do RC FPV rigs… and then there’s this guy…(hobbyking dot com is your friend…)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389020",
"author": "zacdee316",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T02:27:13",
"content": "Great little project, but I think it’s been done before. At least it looks like it would’ve. There have been many slow nights where I think to myself “Camera on a R/C car”. But this needs a rotating camera. Or maybe a little mirror system to look behind (a small mirror could be moved in front of the camera and then reflect to other small mirrors to eventually see behind the camera)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389022",
"author": "Panikos",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T02:34:59",
"content": "I liked this one a lot too:http://hackaday.com/2008/08/28/wifi-robot-a-hacked-wrt54gl-rover/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389179",
"author": "fartface",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T12:59:54",
"content": "Been done before, in fact we had a “video game” build here where they even built the track!Now, get this to work across the country…. I’d love to drive a RC car around the Cali Office.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389188",
"author": "stefodestructo",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T13:46:11",
"content": "I did the same thing a few years ago. I ran into a problem with video lag caused by the linux 2.4 camera drivers. It was still fun to drive.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "389189",
"author": "stefodestructo",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T13:47:51",
"content": "My car was wifi controlled. :)",
"parent_id": "389188",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "389360",
"author": "Mark",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T21:21:26",
"content": "Nobody’s mentioned force feedback yet but, with some feedback from the car’s steering servos, shouldn’t something like that be possible? That would be *way* cool.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389540",
"author": "randommate",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T08:29:15",
"content": "yeah,and on “Prototype This” did it in an early episode with real cars on a smash em up derby track for a mind controlled road rage test.still good to see it being done almost from scratch.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "446970",
"author": "Oscar",
"timestamp": "2011-09-03T06:08:30",
"content": "This is pretty cool. It’s fun to see the many unique ways that Radio Control Car Enthusiast approach this concept. This approach reminds me of the r/c coin ops at your average amusement park. I give him props for not taking the easy way out by purchasing the readily available items that would make it easier. I may take some time out and try my hand at making a DIY radio control car also, with a camera of course.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "961345",
"author": "gasadmintea",
"timestamp": "2013-02-17T07:02:20",
"content": "thats kinda sick for just a toys..,can a beginner in rc making custom models like this?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,199.211091
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/01/diagnosing-diseases-like-macgyver/
|
Diagnosing Diseases Like MacGyver
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Medical Hacks"
] |
[
"battery",
"circuit",
"diagnosis",
"led",
"pancreatitis",
"test"
] |
If you ever watched MacGyver as a kid, you know that given any number of random objects, he could craft the exact tool he would need to get out of a sticky situation. If he ever made his way into the medical research field, you could be sure that
this test for Acute Pancreatitis
would be among his list of accomplishments.
Designed by University of Texas grad student [Brian Zaccheo], the Acute Pancreatitis test seen in the image above looks as unassuming as it is effective. Crafted out of little more than foil, jello, and milk, the test takes under an hour to diagnose patients while costing less than a dollar.
The test works by checking the patient’s blood for trypsin, an enzyme present in high concentrations if they are suffering from pancreatitis. Once a few drops of the patient’s blood is placed on the gelatin layer of the test, it is left to sit for a bit, after which sodium hydroxide is added. If elevated trypsin levels are present, it will have eaten through the gelatin and milk protein, creating a pathway for the sodium hydroxide to reach the foil layer. If the foil is dissolved within an hour, a circuit is formed and a small LED lights up, indicating that the patient has acute pancreatitis.
The test really is ingenious when you think about it, and will be a huge help to doctors practicing in developing countries, under less than ideal working conditions.
[via
PopSci
via
Gizmodo
]
| 28
| 28
|
[
{
"comment_id": "388785",
"author": "JSN",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T15:21:42",
"content": "MacGyver isn’t a disease.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388789",
"author": "Jay",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T15:29:43",
"content": "Awww… I was waiting for the second half of the post to explain how the half dollar coin was then used to cut out the patient’s pancreas. :(Even in my disappointed state I tip my hat to Brian for this little device.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388791",
"author": "pff",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T15:36:30",
"content": "reading the article its difficult not to think that a lot of the device is superfluous, there must be a much simpler way to detect the jelly has been eaten through than passing another chemical through to remove another barrier to light an led.if your worried about cost then surely an easier way is possible?less chance of component failure too.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388797",
"author": "andar_b",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T15:59:40",
"content": "I’m sure that a visual examination of the gelatin would suffice, but perhaps not.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388802",
"author": "rusty",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T16:25:18",
"content": "less than a dollar and under an hour. nice.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388809",
"author": "Walt",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T16:48:22",
"content": "For those of us that suffer from Chronic Pancreatitis when a acute attack is occurring, we know. Yet, having a test that will diagnose it is nice and that is inexpensive is awesome.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388818",
"author": "Stevie",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T17:25:24",
"content": "Very clever.If it was really going to be rolled out en masse as ‘cheap as possible’ then I’d have the same concerns as pff.But as an example piece, it’s very clever :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388819",
"author": "smoker_dave",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T17:26:11",
"content": "It would be better if the LED was normally on and went off if there was a problem detected.As it stands, you could wait and wait and not know when the test was finished (maybe you would leave it early), or maybe there could have been a battery / circuit failure – which is effectively saying “all ok”.Just a small point really.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388822",
"author": "DENNISSTR674",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T17:31:59",
"content": "Shooot,Mac would laugh,forsure I can see the humer and surprise.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388829",
"author": "mjrippe",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T17:45:51",
"content": "Very nice work. It can go next to the Scotch tape x-ray machine in the bomb shelter ;-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388836",
"author": "kak",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T18:25:03",
"content": "1$ to make, 1100$ for the test ;)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388843",
"author": "k0ldBurn",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T18:57:16",
"content": "Anyone else misread the title and think there was a new (clever) disease called MacGyver?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388847",
"author": "Cricri",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T19:22:05",
"content": "Neat, I’ll keep one of these in my toolbox ;p@jay: “hack”-a-day is not meant in this context.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388910",
"author": "Alex Parting",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T20:25:09",
"content": "This is very cool but fairly useless in the sense of doctors. trypsin tips in at about 65% for both sensitive/specific to pancratitis the traditional test amylase comes in at about 95-90% and these are lab tests.Compounded with the sensitivity/speficity of this test makes it useful even in light of a good history",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388911",
"author": "Alex Parting",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T20:25:45",
"content": "whoops useless*",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388936",
"author": "JediTalian",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T21:39:39",
"content": "someone should bring back the Mac, only this time, he isn’t limited to 80’s electronics, but he also isn’t allowed to purchase an Arduino or anything like that. The pure of heart, never banging the hotties, character MacGyver would construct a test like this on one of his travels to third-world countries. Maybe he could battle MacGruber as well.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388941",
"author": "khordas",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T22:03:41",
"content": "Just pour a layer of gelatin with some phenolphthalein into the plastic box, then pour the milk protein gel on top. The trypsin eats a channel down to the bottom layer, then the sodium hydroxide penetrates and stains the phenolphthalein red. Red color in an hour = positive test.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388960",
"author": "jdp",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T22:45:27",
"content": "Awesome stuff!Hook’em Horns",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388970",
"author": "rusty",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T23:12:51",
"content": "people seem to be missing that the lye makes this into a battery that lights the led. as in no external power. and it is faster than the 90 percent effective tests and cheaper. so you could easily run this one and follow up with a second.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388999",
"author": "Marc",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T01:07:05",
"content": "@smoker_dave, even if it was the other way, if the test is negative, you would still end up waiting not knowing if the test is complete or if the result is negative.So, there’s no win-win here.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389023",
"author": "M4CGYV3R",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T02:37:30",
"content": "MacGyver doesn’t have time to wait for jello to set…he’d just dive into the ocean and rip a chunk of blubber off the nearest whale. Or was that Chuck Norris? I seem to forget…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389090",
"author": "Walt",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T05:48:59",
"content": "Amylase and lipase test will show a normal test result when someone has had chronic pancreatitis for some time. This test may be very helpful.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389106",
"author": "NULL",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T06:41:17",
"content": "Try food colouring it will show the path through the gelatin.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389157",
"author": "Alex Parting",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T11:55:19",
"content": "Serum trypsin falls in chronic pancratitis also. Certainly enough that renders this test useless in that case when considered along with the sensi/specif.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389264",
"author": "Airton Granero",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T16:55:06",
"content": "I would not expect an hour for the test result if I had an option. Acute pancreatitis can kill in a few hours. Don’t do this at home.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389493",
"author": "Hacksaw",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T05:56:37",
"content": "My mother almost dies due to an acute attack of pancreatitis.While I am thankful she had the US foremost experts on the condition i think the tests were about $8k to confirm something they already knew was occurring…For less than $1 each run 10 tests concurrently to be more accurate it would still be a huge savings.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389739",
"author": "J. Jones",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T22:08:25",
"content": "That sounds more like something Gregory House would come up with. either way that’s an insane test!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "402102",
"author": "Tom",
"timestamp": "2011-06-05T22:33:56",
"content": "Remember, the creator of this diagnostic device was thinking of practicing medicine in 3rd world countries, not in a fully equipped hospital lab. So stop with the hatin’.That said, this is the first iteration of the device. He should find a temperature stable substitute for the jelatin as refrigeration is often limited in rural clinics.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,199.279357
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/01/lm386-altoids-tin-amp/
|
LM386 Altoids Tin Amp
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Musical Hacks"
] |
[
"altoids",
"amplifier",
"audio amp",
"hack a week",
"lm386"
] |
Hacker [Dino Segovis] is back again with the fifth installment in his “Hack a Week” series. This time around he has put together
a 1/2 watt audio amplifier
that would make for a great weekend project. He’s a big fan of the LM386 amplifier chip because it does so much in such a small package. Since it is so versatile, he used it as the centerpiece of his Altoids tin amplifier.
Now an audio amp inside an Altoids tin
isn’t exactly a new concept
, but [Dino] takes the time to discuss the circuit in detail, which is great for any beginners out there who are looking for a fun and relatively easy project. After a high-speed video of the assembly process he walks us through the completed amp, then treats us to a couple of short demos.
One thing that makes his amp different than others we have seen in the past is the addition of a 1/4” guitar jack, which allows him to use his amplifier as a combo amp/distortion effect box.
It’s another job well done, so be sure to keep reading if you’d like to watch the latest Hack a Week episode in its entirety.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KyBrAoHMX8&w=470]
| 30
| 29
|
[
{
"comment_id": "388764",
"author": "Keith",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T13:47:24",
"content": "Dino is just too cool! Glad to see he got a scope, I’m sure he’ll make good use of it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388770",
"author": "Nomad",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T14:26:41",
"content": "With all those LM386 amps being posted in the past time, I’ve got a question about them:Do those just amplify an audio signal? Like if i plug in my passive e-guitar, the output signal would be a clean guitar sound.If so: is it possible to build some sort of distortion/overdrive effect with those?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388774",
"author": "Matthias_H",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T14:38:16",
"content": "@Nomad: Distortion is what this is all about… +1 on asking for a clean fuzz-less amplification.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388779",
"author": "Colin",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T15:00:39",
"content": "http://www.instructables.com/id/Altoids-Amp/this gives off a similar sound",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388781",
"author": "Nomad",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T15:12:45",
"content": "@Matthias_H: Ah, it wasn’t such a good idea of stopping the video somewhere in the middle. Just watched the presentation of the amp with a bass guitar. The worst thing about the fuzzy sound is that it’s not “fuzzy” enough to be called distortion/overdrive…but it’s also not a clean sound -.-Anyone ideas on how to get clean sound out of a circuit with a footprint similar to this one?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388782",
"author": "QHENT",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T15:17:01",
"content": "Nice project. I always fail when it comes to case mounting but yours was very clean an inspiring. Thanks for the “True RTA” software…I had never heard of it but now it’s in my toolkit.Have an OUTSTANDING day!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388796",
"author": "Bill",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T15:56:25",
"content": "I’m becoming a bigger fan of Dino; definitely my favorite vBlog engineer now.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388798",
"author": "Andy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T16:01:57",
"content": "So is this purely mono then? How would you go about making this stereo? two of them?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388812",
"author": "handigan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T17:03:54",
"content": "How awesome to see this, I just finished my lm386 amp last week and put it into the same flavor altoids. I used two lm386’s for stereo output and skipped the potentiometer in favor of just using my ipod’s volume control and a switch (I kept bumping the pot when it was in my pocket,a mighty shock at times).",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388827",
"author": "smoker_dave",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T17:40:55",
"content": "Nomad,Distortion occurs when the input signal is clipped.Consider an amplifier that is powered from a 9V DC power supply. The output signal from this amplifier can be anywhere from 0V to 9V (or there about, depending on the type of amplifier).The input signal from your guitar could be something small, say 50mV. The amplifier will increase this signal according to the amps “gain”.If the amp has a gain of 180, then an input of 50mV will result in an output of 9V. This would result in a clean signal, as the shape of the sine wave input will be the same as that being output.If however you increase the gain by more than 180, the amp will not be able to amplify the whole of the sine wave. Assume a gain of 200. 200 * 50mV is 10V, but the amplifier only has a 9V supply voltage, so this part of the sine wave will be “clipped”.Clipping of the sine wave is what is commonly referred to as distortion. A light distortion, like fuzz, will have very light clipping. So only the top part of the sine wave is clipped.A more heavy distortion will drive the signal very hard, creating almost a square wave.So basically, to make the signal “clean”, you just need to turn the gain of the amp down so that the output signal will be within the amps supply rail voltages.Needles to say you should find a suitable design in the LM386 datasheet.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388828",
"author": "Bogdan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T17:42:17",
"content": "I’d really like to see people move on past the LM386 to a small class D amplifier that could probably do the same from two AA batteries. Now that would be something new…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "2637616",
"author": "John",
"timestamp": "2015-07-08T06:35:38",
"content": "maybe you could use the adafruit 20W amp that runs on 5-12V, so usinga 9V battery would be ideal clean and distorted sounds",
"parent_id": "388828",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "388915",
"author": "Haku",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T20:36:17",
"content": "Bogdan, I’ve bought a few of these:http://www.dealextreme.com/p/vma2012-2-3w-class-d-audio-amplifier-module-44126they run off 4x rechargable AA’s nicely and when plugged into good speakers they provide a nice rich (& suprisingly loud) sound, also bought the 10 watt version, the VMA2016 but haven’t gotten round to testing it yet – I assume from the 3 watt version sounding good that this will be very good with appropriate speakers.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388930",
"author": "Nomad",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T21:33:28",
"content": "@smoker_dave: would it also be possible to output clean sound by turning down the input level? For instance with a pot?If so, then one could use a trimpot or a simple voltage divider with two resistors and set it up for maximum volume at low gain without clipping. Then it would be possible to crank up the gain and have some distortion.Or did i misunderstand something?PS: i think i’m going to get myself some LM386. Or does anyone have better suggestions for similar amplifiers? I’m thinking of a preamp between my guitar and my home audio, so it won’t need to have a high wattage output.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388958",
"author": "Dino",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T22:37:39",
"content": "@ NomadYou could add a 741 Op Amp as a preamp to this circuit…http://www.rason.org/Projects/opamps/design3.gif",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388968",
"author": "twopartepoxy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T22:55:22",
"content": "nice project.Never seen Altoids in the UK (although they are made in Wales?!), anybody got any idea what the UK equivalent is? Trebor extra strong mints? (but they don’t normally come in a tin though).",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389100",
"author": "Andrew",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T06:28:02",
"content": "Hey! Are comments being moderated these days?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389104",
"author": "Andrew",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T06:38:57",
"content": "No. It seems not, but my last three comments were eaten.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389118",
"author": "smoker_dave",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T07:58:35",
"content": "Nomad, yes – if you decrease the input signal then it is the same effect as turning down the amp gain, or increasing the amps rail voltages.It would not be the optimal solution though, really you want as much of the original signal present as possible. The amplifier will introduce its own electrical noise into the output signal, and by decreasing the input this noise will be more apparent in the output.I just took a look at the LM386 data sheet (you can find it by searching Google). It turns out that the gain of the amp is determined by the resistor and capacitor values between pins 1 and 8.If you take a look at the data sheet, you will be able to work out what value resistor to put in there to turn the gain down.@Dino,Personally I would not use a 741 in an audio project. Their non-linear characteristics make them sound awful.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389182",
"author": "Andy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T13:15:05",
"content": "@twopartepoxyI bought some altoids from my local tesco metro in Newbury, Berkshire last friday ;)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389192",
"author": "Hammerhead",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T13:53:36",
"content": "@smoker_dave: Would decreasing the input signal via resistor/voltage divider have the same effect that a simple pot in a guitar has if installed without caps/improperly? Like the loss of some frequencies or something like this.PS: Since i have more questions about this, i will start a thread in the forums later today.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389287",
"author": "Pedro",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T17:58:25",
"content": "@twopartepoxy, PoundLand near me have Altoids. I should pick some up for the tins…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389367",
"author": "chic",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T21:30:38",
"content": "@dinoyour 741 preamp would need dual supplies too, or if you design a dummy 1/2 supply point you limit o/p.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389407",
"author": "Andrew",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T23:36:21",
"content": "Well, I don’t know what happened to my comments but I wanted to mention the Ruby guitar amp. Nice sound. Very easy to build.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389561",
"author": "awesome guy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T09:30:04",
"content": "http://www.jaycar.com.au/products_uploaded/ZL3386.pdf",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389630",
"author": "Nomad",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T15:05:36",
"content": "@Andrew: sir…you just made my day. This ruby site is awesome!I think i now have a huge idea what i just have to build…it will include some of those amps and probably a µC, which with high probability will be a MSP430 or an Arduino since i don’t have an AVR programmer -.-",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "413573",
"author": "Arthur",
"timestamp": "2011-07-06T03:00:25",
"content": "Hi, Nice project!I’ll try to build one myself, I have 2 questions though:You put the polarity on the 220uF but you’re using more electrolytic capacitors doesn’t the others have polarity?And.. Should I connect all the ground signs to the negative pole of the battery?Thank you!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "726205",
"author": "Freddo",
"timestamp": "2012-08-07T19:51:46",
"content": "Hi, has anyone created a stereo version of this amplifier? if so, please can they upload a schematic of their circuit?Danke",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1426151",
"author": "Shabba",
"timestamp": "2014-05-07T23:04:07",
"content": "Boy am I late to this party but could someone help me out? I have built one of these simple laser communicatorshttp://sci-toys.com/scitoys/scitoys/light/light.html#laser_communicatorbut its way too quiet. I was hoping to use this amp to made it loud enough for my purposes but when I pair it with the receiver from the laser communicator it wont work. Is the signal simply too small for the LM386 to amplify?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "3418624",
"author": "Doug Kottwitz",
"timestamp": "2017-02-21T16:41:15",
"content": "In order to add the LED like Dino did, is there an extra resistor that needs to be added as well?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,201.679279
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/30/hackaday-links-saturday-april-30th/
|
Hackaday Links: Saturday, April 30th
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Hackaday links"
] |
[
"ebike",
"electronic bike",
"laptop",
"portable",
"xbox"
] |
Custom EBike with a 200+ km range
[Doctorbass]
constructed an awesome electrical bike
back in 2008 from a Mongoose bicycle. The bike boasts a top speed of 76km/h and a total range of 210 km on a single charge. Some car company needs to hire this guy STAT.
[via
Make
]
Build to order Xbox 360 laptops
[Ed] recently got his hands on a CNC machine and immediately constructed
an Xbox 360 laptop
. They look pretty sharp, and he’s willing to make a custom laptop if you are interested. We’re thinking someone needs to organize a contest between [Ed] and [Ben Heck].
A portable GameCube to rule them all
It’s no secret we enjoy portable console hacks around here, and
this portable GameCube is quite the looker
. Clearly a lot of thought and work went into this mod, and it shows.
[Thanks, Samjc3]
Ultrasonic backup sensor for the parking impaired
If you decided not to spring for those backup sensors on your new ride,
[Eric’s] got you covered
. He walks us through how he created an ultrasonic backup sensor using an Arduino and an add on programmable logic board.
Mega laser construction begins
Europe’s Extreme Light Infrastructure project is set to start building
the world’s most powerful laser measuring in at 200 petawatts
. Scientists are betting on the laser to be able to tear apart the vacuum of space and time itself, if only for a fraction of a second. Seems like a solid plan to us – what could possibly go wrong?
[Thanks, KonaStar]
| 23
| 23
|
[
{
"comment_id": "388486",
"author": "Campos",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T16:35:30",
"content": "that’s a waste of power.for time travels you just need 1.21 gigawatts..",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388489",
"author": "Whatnot",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T16:45:34",
"content": "Fascinating stuff that laser experiment, I’m curious what we’ll learn.And it’s nice to see the EU getting more active as the US is seemingly in a general decline. It’s nice to think science will continue even if the US is lost somewhat.(and no that isn’t sarcasm but how I observe things and estimate how it might continue.)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388513",
"author": "Limey",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T17:34:13",
"content": "PREPARE FOR UNFORESEEN CONSEQUENCES!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388525",
"author": "acacia",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T17:57:44",
"content": "How exactly does one tear apart a vacuum (nothing)?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388527",
"author": "yonsje",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T18:00:19",
"content": "You might want to change the link to the GC portable to point to the first page of the thread :)Also, am I the only one who wants a high res wallpaper of that laser picture?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388540",
"author": "JDN",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T18:17:16",
"content": "You mess with big lasers and you end up with a problem like in Tron. It gets sorted out in the sequel though but you’ll have to wait several years.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388549",
"author": "chango",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T18:28:38",
"content": "Limey: this one can turn your blood into pure gasoline",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388572",
"author": "echodelta",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T19:03:56",
"content": "First it was CERN and black hole maker, oops there goes Earth and the sun. Now they want to make a CVE.There is a classic Doctor Who with Tom Baker where the Bad Guy makes such an event! It starts in some out of the way corner of the galaxy and keeps on going till it reaches Earth. What great writers they had. Doctor Who was more popular than The Beatles! I thought it was just a great Doctor Who episode till I heard a science story on NPR’s ATC. It’s called a Charge Vacuum Evoitment, it’s a mathematical condition where there is a condition that is more stable than a vacuum and will consume the less stable states. They said it would take 2 of the highest energy cosmic particles hitting each other head on to bring it into existence!I hope this is just a flash in the pan and not THE END.Where’s the Doctor!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388586",
"author": "foogoid",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T20:07:47",
"content": "Some further info on the portable GameCube, including the type of screen used (i.e. not a PSone):http://forums.benheck.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=42149",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388594",
"author": "Gregg",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T20:30:31",
"content": "Paging Dr Gordon Freeman to the Lamda Core…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388603",
"author": "Leithoa",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T21:14:04",
"content": "Good luck getting your 10 beams aligned to the same spot. The national ignition facility has had a hell of a time getting all of their prisms and mirrors etc to play nice together. Granted they’re using 20x as many beams…The power requirement for this laser system isn’t as impressive as I was first expecting, 3kJ. The real trick is in the hardware, finding switched and diodes that can handle the 1.5E-14s power dump",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388607",
"author": "t&p",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T21:40:14",
"content": "amazing with that bike!I want one!!!!!!!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388624",
"author": "BiOzZ",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T22:31:53",
"content": "well the green light on the ultrasonic backup sensor will give a lucky cop a nice licenceplate light ticket ticket but hay its smart XD",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388634",
"author": "Simon",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T23:47:27",
"content": "It’s funny because Doctorbass was the main guest of a TV show I watched last year where he broke the electric bike speed record. (I don’t remember the show title but it was hosted by Réal Béland on Ztele.)I cannot confirmed when it happened but, with another electric bike he build himself, he was able to tow a school bus (nearly 16000lb).So far, he prove we can get speed and torque using two electric bikes.The next question is: “Where I can bought one of each of these electric bikes?”Simon",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388644",
"author": "Pete",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T01:10:29",
"content": "@leithoa the beam alignment isn’t as tricky with this the national ignition facility is trying to hit a single point at the same time from many different directions to uni-formally compress it. Because of the differing lengths from different beams lots of optics are needed to time the beams correctly. This laser will not need the uniformity so alignment should be easier.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388658",
"author": "jim",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T02:13:04",
"content": "Now just to make a fusion powered portable Gamecube filled with lasers.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388726",
"author": "ftorama",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T10:20:08",
"content": "@ Whatnotwhere did you see that Europe was not active in research?CERN is european, as Ariane program. Einstein, Von Braun, Newton, Maxwell, Pasteur were european.AIDS virus has been discovered by a french team…Except for military purposes, american research is not that impressive.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388747",
"author": "Panikos",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T12:04:40",
"content": "@Mike Nathan, would it be possible to contact the builder of the e-bike for a more detailed article?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388772",
"author": "Roboguy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T14:34:44",
"content": "A Back to the Future reference, a Portal reference, a Half-Life reference…hmm, what’s left? Oh!I’m going to have to put you on the gaming grid.End of line.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388944",
"author": "Mike",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T22:20:13",
"content": "@parking sensorI built a much ghettoer version of this a while back because my mom kept hitting the stairs in our garage. It’s much simpler but after watching this video I think it you could modify this to run attached to the car as well. Just need a 9V source from the car battery. Also, it wouldn’t transmit sound…just a visual indicator.Anyway, feed free to copy anything and us it on your own projects…http://iwearshorts.com/portfolio/diy-parking-sensor/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388957",
"author": "andar_b",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T22:35:40",
"content": "@RoboguyJDN beat you to it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389422",
"author": "spag",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T00:35:50",
"content": "Anyone notice the org for the giant laser is ELI? As in, Eli Vance?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390070",
"author": "Will",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T20:18:38",
"content": "The “Black Hole creation” Thing actually happened, you know. :P We didn’t get sucked into the sun because the singularities they create don’t have enough mass to be self-sustainable.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,201.558035
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/30/help-identify-this-vintage-electronics-component/
|
Help Identify This Vintage Electronics Component
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Misc Hacks"
] |
[
"board",
"electronics",
"mystery",
"vintage"
] |
[Windell] over at Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories has reached out
in order to help them identify a mystery piece of electronics equipment
they came across a few years ago. Discovered at an electronics surplus store, the mystery component looks like a cross between an over-sized chess board and a breadboard. Failing to identify it they eventually disposed of the board, snapping a couple of pictures for good measure before it was gone for good.
Recently while visiting a local electronics flea market, they came across what looked to be a similar, though much smaller board. This piqued their curiosity and compelled them to dig out the pictures of the mystery board in hopes of finally discovering what it was. Using markings on the new board they found, the team at EMSL located some images of a patchboard cartridge that looked quite similar to their mystery object. Upon closer inspection however, they think that the two pieces might be related, but are not quite the same item.
Swing by their site and chime in if you happen to have any good leads – we’re sure they will appreciate it.
| 45
| 44
|
[
{
"comment_id": "388422",
"author": "DarkArmyOfOne",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T13:59:31",
"content": "Exactly what part of the board is electronics related? i looks to me like an oversized breadboard. but im surethose gents wouldnt be asking our help if thats what it was. ive seen these before, but am just as clueless. can anyone tell me if those holes go all the way through? or are they like peg plugs?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388423",
"author": "st2000",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T14:01:52",
"content": "I’ve never used one, but it sure looks like one of those things you use to program a Hollerith card sorter.I found the punch cards:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punched_cardBut google has failed to find a picture of this thing. Hum, must not be called a “that thing that sorts Holerith cards” after all :(.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388424",
"author": "h3po",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T14:02:53",
"content": "pretty sure that this is, in fact, a breadboard. here in germany there is a company called “kosmos” which still sells electronics learning kits like “build your own radio” with all single parts housed small cubes with banana plugs at the bottom. you can imagine that a breadboard for these oversized plug-parts would look like these things above.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "391799",
"author": "jay",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T09:56:32",
"content": "Yeah.. its a snap circut board. There are some sold at sparkfun. I remember seeing these at radioshack and hobby stores.",
"parent_id": "388424",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "388429",
"author": "svengali",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T14:08:22",
"content": "Website says that it is all plastic no contacts or anything on the back.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388434",
"author": "wardy",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T14:15:39",
"content": "Speculation…The numbering is strange, 47-24 on one board and 24-47 on the other. That might make sense if the boards are designed to be set up facing each other with something in between, or perhaps pushed through both to make connections.Intriquing.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388436",
"author": "st2000",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T14:16:08",
"content": "Guys don’t believe me.Here:http://wapedia.mobi/thumb/127f503/en/fixed/470/352/IBM402plugboard.Shrigley.wireside.jpg?format=jpgIn the context of it’s web page:http://wapedia.mobi/en/Unit_record_equipment#12.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388438",
"author": "G-Reg",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T14:23:43",
"content": "Ive seen enough info to assume that its definitly an old way to program or wire instruments to test. Its also very clear that its not compleat. Something has been stripped off of it through the years, prob for scrap. The fact that no one can identify it yet leads me to believe it was from a closed, proprietary system that maybe only a few people had access to. It seemed like a popular system back in the day so its not hard to imagine.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388439",
"author": "DarkArmyOfOne",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T14:25:02",
"content": "Ya know what, i had something similar as a child, it was a gigantic foam/plastic breadboard for building/teaching how to build very simple circuits. it was not as large though. but i believe it is just that, PART of a learning tool.. possibly?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388458",
"author": "st2000",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T15:04:27",
"content": "Arrgggg, I (think I) have identified it. It’s just my 2nd of 3 postings is “awaiting moderation”. Probably because I put in links to the picture & web page.(I think) You stick jumpers into the board and shove it into a card sorter and let the sorter “sort things out”.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388461",
"author": "nzc",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T15:14:53",
"content": "I’d bet it’s part of a programming panel from a punched card sorter, as others have speculated. I remember playing with things like that as a young child when my Mom took me in to her office at the University of Pittsburgh. They were obsolete then, and that was 1969 or so. They had metal rails and handles to allow them to be inserted and removed from the card sorter.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388463",
"author": "John",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T15:16:27",
"content": "Most (OK, all) of the “wire programming” boards I have seen have metal frames.As h3po pointed out, this seems like the base for an electronics kit. I wanted one as a kid. It had blocks about the size of the squares in the pic. Each box had a transistor, resistor or other component. One would stick the blocks on the board and make circuits. The tops of the blocks were the schematic symbols, so looking at the circuit one could see the schematic. Way cool.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388469",
"author": "ejonesss",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T15:41:29",
"content": "looks like the blank pcb stock for the earlier ibm mainframe computers.http://www.decadecounter.com/vta/articleview.php?item=491is one of the cards.the motherboard was nothing but male connectors in witch these cards would plug into.if the image does not show due to hotlinking copy and paste above url",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388471",
"author": "moldboy",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T15:53:53",
"content": "It’s peg board. Used for electronics prototyping. The parts came in little holders with feet. The board held the parts and then you used jumper wires to wire it all together",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388472",
"author": "xorpunk",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T15:55:01",
"content": "family sizes light brightI’m sure it’ll end up a arduino LED display soon..",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388482",
"author": "nova",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T16:22:28",
"content": "It’s obviously the prototype for super-battleshipa game before its time.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388483",
"author": "stonysmith",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T16:26:10",
"content": "It does appear to be a (IBM) Hollerith card sorter plugboard. It’s one of the earliest forms of “programs”.The sorter is programmed via a set of patch cables that connect between an array of jacks.This panel is placed over the jacks, and the plugs are pushed thru into the jacks. Then, when this panel is pulled off, the cables are held by this board, and come off with it.The “programmed” panels can then be swapped out quickly for some other configuration.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388488",
"author": "cmholm",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T16:40:11",
"content": "Oh hell’s bells, I saw these on missile test benches 15 years ago… and the name is… ? When I saw them, they were mounted in beefy aluminum frames with handles, and were used as logic patch panels. They were old tech even then, along with the PDP-11s only then being phased out as test equipment controllers (with PCI bus-based emulator cards… cheaper and more reliable than trying to port test s/w written in PDP assembler).",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388491",
"author": "st2000",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T16:50:55",
"content": "@ejonesssThat’s interesting. The IBM PCBs reflect what is going on inside of the individual cans (I think). IBM fabricated IC w/BGAs, inverted them and attached them to a 3D PCB like ceramic holder (which make up the bottom of the square cans in your pictures). That is, IBM did not “bond out” chips like we do today. The pictured PCBs appear to be an extension of that idea. It all looks so easy for a computer to create. But is probably the most human unfriendly (reads: impossible to fix) PCB ever made.I still say the peg board is for an old IBM card sorter.So why is my post in limbo and your post (w/your embedded URLs) up and running?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388504",
"author": "pbilke",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T17:21:16",
"content": "Plugboard.Can’t remember exactly what machine its for (Not IBM) but had several of these after disassembling some old computers (tabulators) in the late 70’s. The gold pins & connectors, and and the frames were worth cash so were remove. The plastic (and some Bakelite) were not worth anything for scrap.Some other exampleshttp://raggio5.smugmug.com/History/Computer/1264392_kx5UQ/1/59860092_VVqbc#59860092_VVqbchttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabulating_machinehttp://www.suomentietokonemuseo.fi/vanhat/eng/kytken_eng.htm",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388510",
"author": "Ren",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T17:26:36",
"content": "@ejoness,I have a couple of the raw IBM PCBs like you show on your link, the above photos look nothing like them.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388530",
"author": "jef",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T18:02:36",
"content": "The secondary school in my neighborhood had an open-door today. I visited the school and in the science classroom I saw a similar ‘oversized breadboard’ which was used to demonstrated electronic circuits. Speaking of coincidence…They had plugs which contained a lamp, a volt meter, ampere meter etc, and which plugged into the board. For demonstration purposes they had made a parallel and serial circuit.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388532",
"author": "Bob Spafford",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T18:07:59",
"content": "I agree that the numbering in these boards makes it unlikely that they were for a Hollerith card sorter. Nonetheless, they just gotta be logic plug boards for some specialized digital device from the steam driven era. These were the first implementation of a “programmable logic array”. The ones I have seen had no electrical contacts. Rather, the jumper wire ends had pins which clipped into the holes.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388538",
"author": "BobSmith",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T18:14:19",
"content": "On the website, they conclude it’s probably a breadboard for fiber optics. After searching for fiber optic breadboards, I get pretty similar boards with evenly spaced holes, although all of the ones I find are flat black, rather than checkerboard.Here’s a bunch, for comparison:http://www.assetrelay.com/categories/Mechanical-Positioning/Optical-Tables-and-Breadboards/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388550",
"author": "bobobo",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T18:33:40",
"content": "looks like some crazy dominoes based board game to me",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388570",
"author": "RobS",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T18:58:57",
"content": "These are `plugboards’. The are made of plastic about a half inch thick, and in my experience, they are used in a metal frame that has handles.In use, a metal pin is crimped on the end of a wire, and pushed into a hole. Another pin is crimped onto the other end of the wire and pushed into another hole. A number of wires inserted into the holes make up a `program’. The black and white printed pattern are to make it easier to locate the intended holes.The pins are equipped with `barbs’ to hold them in place, but allow a little play and rotation, and still be removable. Each pin extended a small distance below the bottom of the board, and was tapered to a centered 1/16 diameter cylinder. The pins I am familiar with were `formed’, not screw-machined. I think the whole `system’ was from A-MP, now part of Tyco.The entire board in its frame was plugged and latched into a large `socket’ frame. The latch mechanism was made so it pushed the plugboard sideways a small distance so the pins would engage the mating pins in the `socket’. In other words, it was a large `zero insertion force’ socket for up to many hundreds or thousands of of pins. The pins in the `socket’ frame were similar to the `plugboard’, but terminated in a flat tab, and the holes in the `socket were shaped to prevent rotation hand hold them at a 45 degree angle relative to the side of the frame, so that the sideways motion of the `plugboard’ at the last stage of latching would cause the round pin tips of the plugboard’ to engage the flat tabs of the `socket with a wiping motion.I have seen similar, but much larger plugboards than yours used on UNIVAC card readers and sorters.A set of twelve `plugboards and sockets were used on a Burroughs version of a ZIP-code reader for the post office. In this case, the plugboard pins were interconnected with resistors in the wires to serve as the `weighting values’ used with op-amps for recognizing the digits of a scanned ZIP-code. There was a plugboard for each digit and space, eleven plugboards total (and a spare). The character recognition `method’ was that of C. K. Chow, an engineer at Burroughs.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388571",
"author": "Max",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T19:01:45",
"content": "Their website discusses this from 2007 blog. Four years and nobody has any answer? Seems to me that it’s something custom-made for one particular tester, or template. They are probably the only ones that exist?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388576",
"author": "qwerty",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T19:06:12",
"content": "It’s a zero gravity chessboard! Pieces stick through the holes using four pins so they don’t move./jk",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388577",
"author": "Charles Shults",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T19:16:18",
"content": "I know exactly what it is.This used to pass as software when the programming was done using patchcords. This is a hard-wired program board used to set up card sorters and interpreters.Each checkerboard zone had a logical meaning and you patched little cords from one to the other to make a program for the machine.So this is how those old 5081 cards (with the holes and the clipped corners, you remember?) were translated into English (and printed along the upper margin) for example.It’s an old-school flash memory!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388578",
"author": "Bob",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T19:17:46",
"content": "The numbering suggests that this was not part of a learning set and is definitely not a breadboard either. You would have numbers for rows and letters for columns. The fact that the number starts at 24 for one of the sides suggests that there is a part that numbers 1-24 that is missing. Injection molding limits the age of the part. It has no mounting holes although the checkered holes could be used for that purpose. They cannot be optical boards because those are made of heavy/stiff material to eliminate vibrations. The checkered pattern has a very generic significance. It is the pattern you would give when both the X and Y axis are equally important to alignment, otherwise you go with stripes of alternating colors. Their argument for an optical fiber patching board also makes no sense since you would still need something to hold the fibers in place. The holes have no retaining features on the inside. I think this is a structural component meant to align, mount, isolate, and insulate other components. Obviously in a system that uses high voltage. Maybe in a high voltage laboratory, this is a tool to test out arrangements.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388579",
"author": "Charles Shults",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T19:24:22",
"content": "Post script- look up “plugboard” on computerhistory.org and you will see a very similar unit in use.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388582",
"author": "Davie Brightbill",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T19:44:32",
"content": "Back in the mid-60s to early 70s (I’ve gotten over being an old guy; you will too.), panels similar to this were used in a lot of devices. I used a similar panel to control the behavior of an IBM 029 keypunch. It was sort of like building a batch file. That panel was tan and had a metal frame, latches, etc.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388584",
"author": "Microguy",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T19:49:13",
"content": "I’m going with the logic plug board that cmholm and Charles mentioned. I’ve seen similar devices also.Notice that each square has four holes, for what amounts to two jumpers. One for column and one for row. Today we’d do the same thing with one jumper, but use a diode to do both C/R jobs.These are probably pretty machine specific. Maybe programming a test bench or similar equipment.But I’ve seen devices like this used to “store” the boot code for a computer so it can start reading in the tape.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388625",
"author": "SteveH",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T22:43:21",
"content": "We used to have these boards on the bottom of test heads used for an in-circuit testing. RobS description is right on the money. Metal pins through the peg board are wire wrapped and connect to spring loaded test point pins on the top side of the test head. A circuit board is placed on the test head, vacuum applied, and the board is sucked down to begin testing. Checker board can be seen here for the HP3065http://www.pmg-prueftechnik.de/hpengl.htm",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388646",
"author": "D_",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T01:15:23",
"content": "H, if I know what it is.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388661",
"author": "John",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T03:00:34",
"content": "Its obvious its a Russian chess/ Chinese checker board with the option to use special colored 4/4 point dominoes in which one end is black and one end is white all the while a learning tool for multiplication table but only in increments of four. Duh!!!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388694",
"author": "phnx",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T07:26:04",
"content": "reading the comments for what it was and all i can think about is what I want it hacked to be… a nixie chessboard…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388832",
"author": "Marc",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T18:03:08",
"content": "Welcome,I don’t see bottom, if there is no electronic parts than i think that is made for creating “wires”In 1970 years, some connections was not made by PCB but by wires.In holes you stick small pins (using special template, to put stick in corect holes) and move that wires between stick. So every wire have correct length and direction. When you put all for example 50 wires, you tie them together using rope (i don’t know how to say small piece of rope)Look here how that small colorfull wires look.http://www.fonar.com.pl/audio/fotki/tester_p507/rys5.jpgRegards from poland",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388932",
"author": "Dave",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T21:33:49",
"content": "it looks like the base board used to make Incircuit test fixtures. test fixtures for something like and HP3065 board test machine.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388990",
"author": "Mike",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T00:15:53",
"content": "I believe this is a visual systems calibration board. Microsoft surface uses something similar to this to calibrate the microsoft surface.http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee692052(Surface.10).aspxI work on 3M Lava systems and they calibrate the scanners with a small block that lookes like the checkerboard above. What machine this was used to calibrate I cant say but I bet it was a scanner/camera system used to track motion or scan 3d",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389097",
"author": "berslan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T06:14:46",
"content": "I back h3po and DarkArmyOfOne on this. We have a similar learing kit with a brand “Tees”. The boars have no contacts. They just serve as a pad and you make all the connections with wires. the problem is, you cannot use standard components. you have to use components enclosed in lego like bricks, which have holes on each corner for wire connections.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389154",
"author": "KanchoBlindside",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T11:40:36",
"content": "It looks like a punchboard to me.Popular in the 50s-80s, a wooden peg was punched through a hole (for a standard fee, a nickle to a dollar) which contained a rolled-up paper, it had a winning cash amount, free punch, advance to jackpot (if there was one) or prize – or nothing.Often “maps” were produced for them so the sellers knew which holes paid out which prizes. This funded the Milwaukee mafia (Balistrieris) and the Milwaukee Jewish mob, who ran punchboards from Michigan U.P. to Kentucky in every mom-and-pop store and gas station for years.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389220",
"author": "jeff-o",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T15:06:05",
"content": "@Dave: That’s exactly what it is (at least, it can be used for that.) I know, because I’ve got one sitting next to me right now.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389818",
"author": "FDP",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T02:33:02",
"content": "I can’t say what it is, but I can say that this is NOT an optical breadboard (for laser or fiber optics experiments). Those are usually made of honeycomb aluminum or granite and have threaded holes.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "512335",
"author": "Brian",
"timestamp": "2011-11-18T18:26:26",
"content": "Dave is right, its an interface board from an early HP A.T.E machine, gold plated interface pins were inserted as required, the panel shown would be one of several used to make one HUGE connector.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,201.759619
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/29/bbc-covers-an-old-school-hacker/
|
BBC Covers An Old-school Hacker
|
Brian Benchoff
|
[
"classic hacks",
"News"
] |
[
"media",
"news"
] |
Yesterday, the BBC
posted an article
on [Julian Skidmore]’s AVR-based
homebrew computer
.
[Julian]’s project uses an AVR and a derivative of Forth to recreate the capabilities of the 8-bit computers of yesteryear. With 8kB of RAM, [Julian] got a TV-out up and running, and even included code for a Lunar Lander game.
We’re happy for [Julian] getting some notoriety as an old-school solder monkey, but we’re wondering why the BBC is covering a project not unlike the something that could be seen on hackaday once a week. Could it be the first inkling of respect for the hacker and DIY community in the general public’s eye?
In any event, we love the initiative shown in [Julian]’s quote at the bottom of the BBC article: “Building the machine is a way to learn the essentials of what a computer is all about.” If you want to understand something, you’ve got to build it yourself. Truer words…
| 19
| 19
|
[
{
"comment_id": "388089",
"author": "mowcius",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T20:31:14",
"content": "Unfortunately they didn’t use the word ‘hacker’ or ‘hack’ so the general public still has no idea what a ‘hacker’ is.The BBC does its own features so they wouldn’t simply link to a website like hackaday. The feature did at least show the making bit and try to show the fun and that ‘feeling’ you get from making something yourself.It’s definitely a step in the right direction.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388091",
"author": "Luke",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T20:34:31",
"content": "I like how the explain what soldering is.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388097",
"author": "am_i_evil",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T20:47:31",
"content": "No disrespect to Julien – not his fault he was picked for the story – but it would have been much cooler to see the BBC cover the Uzebox project.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388103",
"author": "Doktor Jeep",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T20:50:19",
"content": "Since it’s impossible to develop anything in this world and profit from it without needing connections and getting lawyered up, a Second Realm Strategy of DIY and cheap underground production will be how we prosper in the future.Any respect for DIY and hacking is good.BTW: Forth? I thought it was dead.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388183",
"author": "HUSSTECH",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T23:23:34",
"content": "I was very pleased to see this feature on the BBC.John is an extremely intelligent person, and very knowledgeable in all things computing. He’s a member of my local Hackspce in Bristol, and he has always helped me find a solution to a problem. John is a true hacker, in the sense of this community on Hack a Day.@mowcius while hack a day was not linked in the article, John’s personal website was, take a peek.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388192",
"author": "zokier",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T23:45:58",
"content": "I wonder if he has actually tried to type that lunar lander code with those 8 tactile switches.Overall both the story and the project seem to be more about nostalgia than producing an actually viable computer, even for education.Actually building a relatively fully featured (compared to early 8-bit home computers) computer around a MCU would be rather interesting exercise. A keyboard, bit better video output (color, lowres graphics), mass storage (recreating a tape recorder would be fun, but maybe SD cards would be more practical), maybe simple sound even.Obviously such project would need few more parts, but I bet that it still would be far more simpler than that Compukit shown in TFA.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388204",
"author": "zokier",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T00:18:13",
"content": "@am_i_evilOooh, Uzebox looks cool. Add a BASIC (or Forth…) interpreter and a keyboard, and you’ll get the whole 8/16-bit experience",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388205",
"author": "D_",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T00:18:58",
"content": "Perhaps it’s a good thing the term hacker wasn’t used in the story, the general public isn’t likely to differentiate between a malicious software hacker, and the mostly more benign hardware builder. Unless Don Lancaster trademarked the term hardware hacker, I feel it that term should be used more often hacker. Then again it really wouldn’t matter if the term is trademarked.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388232",
"author": "Edward",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T02:30:45",
"content": "While I’m all for giving credit and spreading the ingenuity and hard work of the hacking community this is merely a human interest piece. It happens to feature a piece of hardware that has broad appeal, particularly for older generations. The BBC is only covering this because it is has a strong human interest factor and it happens to overlap with something their audience might find of interest. This article has nothing to do with the real hacking communities that have been around for decades or even the new “movement” whatever it qualifies as(potentially a fad in my opinion).",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388235",
"author": "haley0918",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T02:34:16",
"content": "My suggestion would be to just keep the hacking activities and sort to our own self and to people with interests and similar understandings.Putting too much publicity on our projects, especially the hacks, might bring more trouble such as the lawsuit.For some people that should not be a problem but there is also some that would take take hacking up to extreme level that might offense some companies or cause new bills to ban.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388271",
"author": "Stevie",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T04:43:21",
"content": "@mowcius the general public mostly know what a hacker is. Especially with the recent hack of PSN. I’d like to slap hackers in the face with a large trout.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388286",
"author": "ren_zokukne01",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T05:50:24",
"content": "“oh yeah, sure, he found out how twiddle with the internal registers of an x86 in debug to make it run faster.. big deal… tshh… shit. i’d like to see that work on other systems”",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388346",
"author": "marc",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T09:37:35",
"content": "Remember, wear safety glasses while soldering…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388452",
"author": "Julian Skidmore",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T14:47:20",
"content": "Hi folks,Thanks for the comments! As the developer of FIGnition, I’d like to reply to some of the points raised here.Firstly, is Forth dead? Well, not quite, it’s currently sitting as the 43rd or so most popular language… something like 0.43% of programmers use it.Secondly, The BBC contacted me, because it somehow connects with the invention of the Microprocessor 40 years ago, I guess they’ll be running a series of articles there. In fact it was Makerfaire UK who put me in contact with the BBC, many thanks to everyone involved.Thirdly, I know Hackaday covers machines and designs like this from time to time. FIGnition is primarily educational… an introductory machine to build code for and understand. Hence, it uses a simple keypad not even a phone keypad from Maplin nor a PS/2 keypad: I want people to see the code and understand it, so it must be compact. I want novices to be able to build it – fathers to show their sons, school kids to do workshop classes in it.Fourthly, yes I originally typed the entire lunar lander game using the keypad – I need to prove the design is practical. That version was sent to be the BBC though at the time was undebugged. The keypad almost never requires more than 2 keypresses so it’s better than a cell phone and similar to a Sinclair style keyboard.Fifthly, Uzebox is cool, it needs a proper RAM chip though – proper home micros were RAM dominated and that’s really what’s missing from most of the homebrew MCU type computers we see on Hackaday. Of course, Arduino is also a fantastic device – my early development for FIGnition was done using an Arduino given to me by the Manchester Madlab.-cheers from julz @P",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388455",
"author": "John Smith",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T14:49:33",
"content": "@Doktor JeepForth is not dead:http://osxbook.com/book/bonus/ancient/whatismacosx/arch_boot.htmlIt is in the bios of every Mac. It’s also in this game adapter for the arduino:http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2084212109/gameduino-an-arduino-game-adapterIt is a very powerful low level language. It is fairly easy to implement forth on a bare CPU with a minimal amount of assembly.Here is a tutorial on how one person implemented it for x86:http://rwmj.wordpress.com/2010/08/07/jonesforth-git-repository/You will find a forth implementation for just about every CPU out there.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388492",
"author": "anti-fanboi",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T16:51:18",
"content": "as much as things change with computers over the ages, one thing at least has stayed the same: forth programmers are a bit nutty (in a good way)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388493",
"author": "twopartepoxy",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T16:58:36",
"content": "@Doktor Jeep:I agree, in fact the whole nonsense of negotiating which particular clan of suits will get the most undeserved benefit from any development takes so long that it has almost completely stifled the creative process, its akin to the protection rackets of organised crime syndicates, just legal. DIY and non-IP/patent are the way to go for mankind",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389579",
"author": "bob",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T10:23:23",
"content": "“why the BBC is covering a project not unlike the something that could be seen on hackaday once a week”Are we talking about the same BBC that teamed up with Acorn to create a personal computer that introduced millions of children to computing?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390911",
"author": "twopartepoxy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T13:42:32",
"content": "@bob, good point.I remember the BBC computer (and BBC basic), great days, great days!, what a legacy! In a way they were doing what OLPC is trying to do at the moment. (of course, I had a zx spectrum too – who didn’t?).here is another recent article from the BBC about DIY processor building, well worth a read:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13271133",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,202.055553
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/29/build-a-real-life-eschers-waterfall/
|
Build A Real-life Escher’s Waterfall
|
Jesse Congdon
|
[
"how-to",
"Misc Hacks"
] |
[
"fake",
"illusion",
"perspective"
] |
Instructables user [GuokrDIY] has provided a
translation
of a detailed guide on making one of our favorite Escher inspired illusions. Unlike the
previous
speculated solutions to Escher’s waterfall this one manages to keep the water path coherent up until the top level. The trick of the whole setup is very carefully controlling perspective to overlap the water source and outlet. We say water but for some reason the builder is actually using “toilet detergents” as the liquid… At any rate, the
liquid
is allowed to flow downhill until it reaches the fourth corner, which does not exist. The liquid actually falls off the end of the table (out of sight) and into a basin. A carefully timed pump in the basin pushes liquid up to the top of the waterfall through one of the model’s pillars, where it then cascades over the wheel.
Using sketchup to model the various structural components of the waterfall the design is fashioned out of PVC and ABS plastic, then skinned with mapped textures to ensure that everything looks coherent. The visual details are fine tuned by viewing the whole setup through a camcorder. The hardest part of the illusion seems to be modulating power to the pump in order to time it with the liquid’s flow.
We just hope that thing about toilet detergent was a mistranslation or some kind of sarcasm from the
original
Chinese article. Check out the model in action after the jump!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbi8-L-TJkA&w=470]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8leA2SWBzc0&w=470]
| 16
| 16
|
[
{
"comment_id": "388068",
"author": "sungam",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T19:23:39",
"content": "This is the “toilet detergent” thinghttp://www.google.com/search?q=洁厕宝&tbm=isch",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388081",
"author": "Scuzz",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T20:00:50",
"content": "That is excellent! I’m super glad to hear that he used a carefully timed pump because that means that his illusion is technically sustainable. All that would need to happen is that the water in the basin would be the source for the pump and it would look completely perpetual.I guess the only thing I would have done if I were this guy is try and get the flows to match up more completely and get the lighting on the last corner more even. It looks absurd in the original, but a million floodlights were there for a reason!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388082",
"author": "Scuzz",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T20:02:20",
"content": "And sorry for the double post but I wanted to say that I don’t sound as blown away by this as I am in the first post: THIS IS AWESOME. Nice work making it match the original!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388087",
"author": "Brian",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T20:27:37",
"content": "Wow this is simply amazing. I wish they showed a 360* view of the structure so you could see the actual construction.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388106",
"author": "Brennan",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T21:09:39",
"content": "They’re using toilet boil cleaner simply because it is a distinctive blue color so it’s much easier to see on the video of the illusion. Think about it, if you poured regular water you most likely wouldn’t even see it on the video until the waterfall.Also, if you watch the “behind the scenes” video on the instructables you can get a better idea of the 360 degree view and what it looks like from behind.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388112",
"author": "Thopter",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T21:28:17",
"content": "Brennan beat me to it. The detergent is just to make it easier to see.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388139",
"author": "Jesse Congdon",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T21:42:17",
"content": "@Brennan: Found it! Updated the post, thanks!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388140",
"author": "brad",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T21:45:35",
"content": "what’s wrong with water+food coloring? i can make a “distinctive blue” color with that, and it’s a lot less hazardous.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388197",
"author": "Maxwell Mudd",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T23:54:30",
"content": "It kind of looks like they’re setting up and filming in an old operating room. Creepy.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388201",
"author": "Neil",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T00:07:36",
"content": "This is awesome. Look at the stains on the floor of the reveal shoot. Shows the amount of time, effort and frustration that has gone into this. I like the reality as much as the illusion.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388257",
"author": "ejonesss",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T03:34:37",
"content": "you may be better off using food coloring to color normal water .toilet cleaner may work but if there are children near it could be a poison problem and colored water would be perfectly safe.if the model is going to be placed out of reach of children then toilet cleaner may be ok",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388325",
"author": "echodelta",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T08:22:00",
"content": "Reminds me of the advert in Popular Science.Basement toilet flushes up to overhead sewer or septic tank.OR or just a bathroom, toilet roll is clue.Japanese toilets high tech so cleaner is probably not very nasty. It could even be the airline and RV stuff just disinfectant.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388330",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T08:53:32",
"content": "Well I’m glad someone thought of the children.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388613",
"author": "SNAAAKE!!!",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T22:26:13",
"content": "YOU’VE CREATED A TIME PARADOX!!!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388850",
"author": "FontFiend",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T19:39:47",
"content": "This was done in a country where they regularly manufacture children’s products containing industrial toxins… They probably just slap a nipple on a bottle of toilet bowl cleaner and hand it to the baby when they get hungry.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389301",
"author": "Vinh Vu",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T18:29:30",
"content": "It’s China… I dont think safety is a concern… safety hazard?? right…Anywho, AWESOME project!!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,201.949778
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/29/mini-quadrocopter-is-crazy-awesome/
|
Mini Quadrocopter Is Crazy Awesome
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Robots Hacks"
] |
[
"awesome",
"cortex-m3",
"miniature",
"quadrocopter"
] |
Quadrocopters are all the rage lately, and while we have seen our fair share of large devices, [Arnaud Taffanel, Tobias Antonsson, and Marcus Eliasson] have been dutifully working to buck that trend.
Their CrazyFlie is a miniature quadrocopter
that uses its PCB as the main structure of the device.
Since the goal was to use a PCB as its frame, the copter’s footprint from the edge of one motor to the other is a modest 8cm, and it weighs in at a measly 20 grams! The entire platform runs on a Cortex-M3 CPU that takes input from an accelerometer and pair of gyroscopes to help keep its balance. Wireless communications are handled via a 2.4Ghz radio transmitter, and the quadrocopter’s power is supplied by a tiny 110 mAh LIPO battery pack scavenged from an R/C plane.
All of the control and telemetry is handled by a PC, which relays control messages it receives from the pilot’s game pad to the CrazyFlie. We’d love to see if they could retain this small footprint if everything was handled by the quadrocopter itself. Either way, this thing rocks – we most definitely want one!
Stick around to see a quick video of their mini quadrocopter in action, and be sure to check out
our coverage of U. Penn’s quadrocopter creations
if you are interested in seeing more.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=XRuWf2h7_5Q&w=470]
| 51
| 50
|
[
{
"comment_id": "388036",
"author": "Truth",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T18:17:46",
"content": "I’d love to see a video of “The components on the PCB are soldered using a frying pan” – from one of the comments on the blog.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388040",
"author": "Rogan Dawes",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T18:28:07",
"content": "That is super cool. Very impressive what they have been able to build into a tiny package.I’d buy a kit for a reasonable price (hint hint!). One that has all the surface mount soldering done for me, that is :-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388048",
"author": "Hirudinea",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T18:41:39",
"content": "The CIA will be calling for a gross shortly.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388050",
"author": "Hackius",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T18:50:45",
"content": "Thatis very impressive. I wonder what the autonomy is.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388051",
"author": "Stevie",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T18:52:35",
"content": "Very cool!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388056",
"author": "joe",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T18:59:25",
"content": "Looking at the picture I thought “looks pretty small 12″ x 12″ or so” then I see the video where its held in a hand and realize that its only 4″ x 4″. It was a shock to see how small it is. They seemed to have trouble flying it but when it flies it looks very stable, more stable than most quads I’ve seen, even those flying indoors. Don’t know why they went with 2.4GHz radios IR control like the mini heli toys should be fine for indoor and the short range and would significantlty reduce code size and weight (one photo diode instead of radio board). I can’t imagine why they would do flight control on the PC most of the quad copters run on AVR chips (8bit) the cortex-m3 processor is probably ten times faster so they should be able to do autonomous flight control.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388061",
"author": "chango",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T19:07:04",
"content": "This should be the next Stellaris devkit. Jean Anne, are you listening?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388078",
"author": "Ian Stirling",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T19:54:04",
"content": "The CPU has plenty of grunt for doing the control, and there are a number of ways the PCB can be shrunk.The parts used are quite old, and this field is moving fast.For example –http://www.cdiweb.com/ProductDetail/MPU6000/420595– a three axis magnetometer and 3 axis gyro in the same part.Also – I think the gyros used are analog output, meaning extra parts are needed for stuff.The above is digital output, removing that hastle.There are smaller packages for the arm cortex part, going down to as little as 3*3mm or so. You possibly wouldn’t want to go that far.The radio module is quite large –http://focus.ti.com/docs/prod/folders/print/cc1110f32.html– for example would let you shrink that footprint a bit.There may almost be enough spare left after this shrunk to add a GPS – at 3 grams.http://www.asichip.com/ceshi/pdf-new/SkyNav_SKG11B_DS.pdfThe GPS simplifies the position solution a fair bit.However, almost as good can be gotten if you don’t care about slow drifts, with just an additional 3 axis magnetometer chip.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388079",
"author": "arnaud",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T19:54:16",
"content": "Hi, I’m part of the group that have made this copter. Thanks HaD for the post and thanks for the comments :).@joe: Actually the regulation and everything required to get the copter to fly run in the cortex-M3. The PC sends set-points (thrust, angles of pitch/roll and angular rate for the Yaw) and receives telemetry from the copter.Hence, technically it would already be possible to fly the copter without PC if we build a remote controller. However, it was easier and more practical to write a python program using PyGame+libusb to handle the PS3 gamepad and the USB radio dongle.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388094",
"author": "therian",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T20:44:35",
"content": "I was about to built something similar from broken mini helicopters but I wrongly assumed that small motors will not have enough lifting power and will weight more than single large motor",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388101",
"author": "therian",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T20:48:21",
"content": "anyone know a good source for this small but powerful motors? cellphone vibrator motor are too slow for this",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388102",
"author": "NotoriousAlpha",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T20:48:22",
"content": "Looks like it quickly looses calibration, and goes astray. Maybe small adjustable mounts to adjust trim?? I’m not into copters , but it looks like an awesome little package with great features!! well crafted!!!Excellent job guys, i’m not trolling. I Swear *scouts honor",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388122",
"author": "JB",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T21:36:30",
"content": "@arnaud: “work in progress”? Looks good guys. It seems like the “pilots” need a little more practice though :PI’ve flown many quadcopters, but yours is TINY! Great job!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388149",
"author": "Panikos",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T22:09:04",
"content": "If you make that into a kit I am your first customer!I really liked it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388150",
"author": "NXTreme",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T22:12:12",
"content": "I’m surprised no one has mentioned this before, but there is also a very cool little hexrotor design over on RCGroups. Slightly bigger than this one, and heavier, but the same basic concept “Make a multi-rotor flying thing as small as possible”.http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1054541",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388164",
"author": "peter",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T23:00:00",
"content": "The write-up says that their motors are taken from an inexpensive plane called the Silverlit X-Twin. If you google it there are a bunch of results, including this one:http://www.silverlit-flyingclub.com/xtwin.htm",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388166",
"author": "zool",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T23:01:21",
"content": "cool…i would buy one",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388168",
"author": "voodoo",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T23:06:19",
"content": "@therian: apparently motors are those used for a small electric fixed-wing. Motors for sub-micro helis may also work.Intuitively, I would expect stability to suffer as you scale the q-copter design. I don’t know much about the science though. Anyone with good knowledge here think this could be further scaled, and retain stability?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388220",
"author": "klown",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T01:40:50",
"content": "6mm pager motors . They do wear out pretty fast taxing the batt.The people @ RCGroups are making there OWN BRUSHLESS 6mm pager motors because there is no company offering anything like them. Brushless Would be so so much better!!My Favorites are the ones that look like a small 6mm actuator coil with a magnet inside Spinning a Prop pretty darn good. There are planes the fly using these WORLDS SMALLEST airplane motors.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388236",
"author": "therian",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T02:37:38",
"content": "@klownI wold appreciate a link on those diy motors",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388329",
"author": "Norman Bates",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T08:45:49",
"content": "I’d loose the zigbee (way too heavy), replace it with a on board radio or IR reciever (make a kit for each version ;) )If the price is right, I would deff. buy one!(as a kit)One Q though! where to find replacement rotor blades (since they use 2 left and 2 right turning blades)?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388349",
"author": "Norbert",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T09:45:08",
"content": "Hi,You can get Motors at:http://www.microflight.com/7mm-3-3-Ohm-Coreless-Motoror at:http://www.xufo-shop.de/shop/article_85574/Air-Acrobat-Motor-Set.htmlyou can also get there the bladesIn a projekt i am actually also building one: (pcb is double layer with 3×3 cm)the parts i use are:ATmel at32ucb1128 (mcu)STm L3g4200 (digital 3-axis gyroAnalogs adxl345 (digital 3-axis acc)Atmel at86rf230 (2.4 ghz transreceiver)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388350",
"author": "Whatnot",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T09:48:42",
"content": "Do they use neodymium magnets yet in those small motors? I know they do in electric cars and such.@Hirudinea CIA doesn’t want stuff that can’t (illegally) murder whole villages really, it’s ‘oudated’ soviet era stuff to just spy.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388351",
"author": "Norbert",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T09:51:39",
"content": "Oh and the one with blades on ithttp://www.xufo-shop.de/shop/article_85579-00/X-TWIN-Motor-Set-schwarz.html",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388354",
"author": "Norbert",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T10:11:17",
"content": "Before i forget,some similar projects worth mentioning it:http://www.smartflyer.de/index.htmlhttp://www.nanokopter.at/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388400",
"author": "pod",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T12:07:12",
"content": "where does the QR code on the unit point to?couldn’t find a single frame where it can be seen clearly to scan it",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388408",
"author": "Whatnot",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T12:52:36",
"content": "Addendum @Hirudinea The NSA and FBI and army intelligence though…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388410",
"author": "qwerty",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T13:00:47",
"content": "Very nice! Count me in as a customer if you make a kit!I’d also like a slightly larger version. Maybe mounting the motors at a bigger distance would give better stability. Larger props would also rotate at lower speed so it would not sound like a swarm of mosquitos:^)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388427",
"author": "Dino",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T14:06:15",
"content": "I really like how the integrated chassis and PCB. Very nice build and it looks like a lot of fun!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388480",
"author": "Norman Bates",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T16:13:36",
"content": "I have seen another one which has a really nice board layout:http://www.nanokopter.at/image1",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388500",
"author": "twopartepoxy",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T17:09:42",
"content": "nice work. way beyond my ability at the moment but nice to see what kind of thing can be acheived.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388565",
"author": "Elliot Nixon",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T18:45:53",
"content": "If you have to use words incorrectly, then go speak Esperonto. When I visit the grand canon, I’m going to call it awesome but you people have raped the English language to the point you deny other people their meaning.And Yes, we’re going to continue critiquing your speech until you stop talking as a stupid Californian teenager.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388573",
"author": "NatureTM",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T19:05:14",
"content": "Dear Elliot Nixon:I am already sick of the grammar police, and now you’re getting on Mike for using the word “awesome.” I really don’t get it. Are you saying he isn’t allowed to be in awe of this project? I would contest they your use of the word “raped” is much more of a travesty. I hope that you’re just really old, and your brain lacks the plasticity to deal with the fact that the meaning of words changes over time. Otherwise, I think you’re just a… Nevermind, I think you get my point.P.S. Sorry to any really old people I may have offended ;-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388590",
"author": "therian",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T20:21:06",
"content": "“If you hvae to use wrdos inelcotrcry, tehn go sepak Esperonto. When I visit the grand cnaon, I’m gonig to clal it aomsewe but you poelpe hvae reapd the English lagangue to the point you deny otehr poelpe tiher mnineag.And Yes, we’re going to cnitnuoe ctqinuriig yuor seepch utinl you sotp tnlkaig as a suptid Californian tegeeanr.”what a surprise you can read it even this way, what incredible minds do we have!Dont get mad on gamma police, it was medically proven to be obsession just like other forms of OCD they just have to correct people or world will end in their heads",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388679",
"author": "s",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T04:50:52",
"content": "@natureTM: the irony being the number of errors in Elliot’s own post!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388839",
"author": "candida",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T18:30:52",
"content": "Wow its amazing! Need to build my own quadrocopter :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388912",
"author": "Quadrocopter",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T20:25:59",
"content": "how much power that thing suck? Can we power it by solar panel lighten by laser?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388961",
"author": "pRtkL xLr8r",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T22:46:52",
"content": "Looks and sounds like a Manhack…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389190",
"author": "Valen",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T13:50:53",
"content": "Is there something about youtube that says you must have music?I really want to hear the thing properly as I get most of my understanding of how well something is working by how “sweet” it sounds, and everybody feels the need to cut that channel of information off.That aside nifty project, stick a camera on it and sell it to the CIA for billions ;-P",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389379",
"author": "Norbert",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T22:00:16",
"content": "@Quadrocopterapproximatly 300-500mA at 3.7 V each motor",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389417",
"author": "Thanh",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T00:18:21",
"content": "Really nice! I was afraid of how crash proof that was until seeing it crashed couple times :)I’ve made a 3″ (7.5 – 8cm) quadcopter too (not autonomous though). Here are some info:And video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKw-RDqwgdEhttp://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1335765The thread should have a lot of info on where to get the parts.I’ve been waiting for the MPU6000 from Invensense since February to add accelerometer into my design.-Thanh",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389828",
"author": "BOS322",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T03:32:27",
"content": "i dont know much about this sort of thing but it does look interesting (and fun). that being said i think it would be interesting to see if besides the basic controls if some sort of pre-programmed landing and just hovering in place could be added.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389861",
"author": "Hammerfest",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T06:10:00",
"content": "Not going to lie here, this size, or even a bit bigger, make it able to fly by itself (more like follow me to a certain distance by the tracking pin ill have on the neck of my shirt), and able to land in my hand when i put it out (also a different tracker thats a button activation and overrides the other on my shirt), and has one of those BRAND NEW near 90% efficiency solar cells/batts so i dont have to recharge it…I would pay a pretty penny for that… yes just to have the damn thing follow me around… no lie…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389976",
"author": "Sebas",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T14:53:13",
"content": "Where to buy?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390499",
"author": "RJ",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T15:17:07",
"content": "$$$ SHUTUP AND TAKE MY MONEY!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "406367",
"author": "Eddy",
"timestamp": "2011-06-15T22:45:31",
"content": "Yeah quite a nice one, but the NanoKopter is much smaller… and it also does only weigh 16 gram with battery.I’ve heard that the NanoKopter people will license the quadrocopter to a company which is going to produce and sell it worldwide!Would be really cool to have such a tiny one :D",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "427522",
"author": "Bernhard",
"timestamp": "2011-08-02T21:49:21",
"content": "That was very interessting. Normally quadrocopters are much greater, but there exist meanwhile also very small quadrocopter (Nanokopter).",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "547542",
"author": "yuvi",
"timestamp": "2011-12-30T22:20:07",
"content": "any sites that sell these size quad copters ??? :)this is awesome !!!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "581677",
"author": "Daniel",
"timestamp": "2012-02-13T14:57:45",
"content": "WOOW! I have seen some smaller Quadrotors, but this one ist over the TOP! I LOVE the way no Frame is used – all in one FC :D Nice WORK!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "583454",
"author": "Farhaan",
"timestamp": "2012-02-16T16:08:16",
"content": "AWESOME!!I would love to build one….can anyone tell me the hardware stuff i need to build one of these!!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,201.84838
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/29/eeg-assisted-hand-control/
|
EEG-assisted Hand Control
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Medical Hacks"
] |
[
"brain control",
"eeg",
"emotiv",
"ipsilateral",
"orthosis"
] |
[Sam Fok], an engineering student at the Washington University School of Engineering
wrote in to share a project
he and his classmates [Raphael Schwartz, Mark Wronkiewicz, Charles Holmes, Jessica Zhang, Nathan Brodell, and Thane Somers] have been working on as their entry in the 2011
RESNA Student Design Competition
. Their project, IpsiHand, is designed to help rehabilitate those who have suffered a stroke or other Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).
Most motor functions in the body are controlled by the opposite hemisphere of the brain, a process called contralateral motor control. When a patient suffers from TBI, they often lose control over some portion of the body opposite the injury. Recent studies have shown however, that while most motor control is contralateral, hand movements also create ipsilateral brain activity. This means that the uninjured side of the brain can effectively control both hands, with a bit of mechanical assistance.
Their process uses an
Emotiv Epoch EEG headset
,
which we have discussed before
, to monitor the patients’ brain for activity. The data is sent wirelessly to a computer which processes the data, singling out ipsilateral brain waves. The computer then actuates a modified hand orthosis to control grasping in real time.
We think their work is fantastic, and the team’s creation has a wide array of applications in the field of therapy and assisted living. We wish them luck in their competition, and hope to see this technology put to good use in the future.
| 5
| 5
|
[
{
"comment_id": "388069",
"author": "Don",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T19:27:26",
"content": "This looks like it could really help people. Hope they get it produced.Don",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388157",
"author": "crashsuit",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T22:34:28",
"content": "I keep looking at that hand-thing and thinking, “Aperture Science.”",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388632",
"author": "baobrien",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T23:32:12",
"content": "Hey look, it’s washU in St. Louis. I live near that place",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389626",
"author": "jaybles",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T14:29:54",
"content": "My grandmother suffered a stroke last year and lost control of her left arm. I’d love to get my hands on this for her. I’ve got money to burn too!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "8042749",
"author": "Jeff Pipitone",
"timestamp": "2024-09-23T09:03:04",
"content": "Hats off to the students that designed this project.It’s truly inspirational !I don’t know how old this article is but I see that there is a product out there called IpsiHandhttps://www.neurolutions.com/ipsihand/Not sure if the product offered on that website is related, but being a stroke survivor with left hand paralysis, this project really hits home with me and I would like to know more about it. Is there any additional information out there on the project and how can I learn more about it?Thank you..",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,201.893621
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/29/real-time-digital-puppetry/
|
Real-time Digital Puppetry
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Arduino Hacks",
"Video Hacks"
] |
[
"3d",
"arduino",
"digital",
"puppets",
"realtime",
"video"
] |
If it sometimes seems that there is only a finite amount of things you can do with your kids, have you ever considered making movies? We don’t mean taking home videos – we’re talking about making actual movies where your kids can orchestrate the action and be the indirect stars of the show.
Maker [Friedrich Kirchner] has been working on an application called MovieSandbox, which is an open-source realtime animation tool. A couple of years in the making, the project is cross-platform compatible on both Windows and Apple computers (with Linux in the works), making it accessible to just about everyone.
His most recent
example of the software’s power is a simple digital puppet show
, which is sure to please young and old alike. Using sock puppets fitted with special flex sensors, he is able to control his on-screen cartoon characters by simply moving his puppets’ “mouths”. An Arduino is used to pass the sensor data to his software, while also allowing him to dynamically switch camera angles with a series of buttons.
Obviously something like this requires a bit of configuration in advance, but given a bit of time we imagine it would be pretty easy to set up a digital puppet stage that will keep your kids happily occupied for hours on end.
Continue reading to see a quick video of his sock puppet theater in action.
[via
Make
]
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/22761859 w=470]
| 4
| 4
|
[
{
"comment_id": "387998",
"author": "Andrew",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T16:20:45",
"content": "Just think of Bob and Judy, happy as can be, inventing situations, and putting them on TV o/`",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388012",
"author": "doronbc",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T16:40:11",
"content": "they should buy a kinect:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAGnSrdOfyA",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388184",
"author": "noah vawter",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T23:24:23",
"content": "This is really great! I’d love to try out making some of my own funny shows like Sifl and Ollie with it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388186",
"author": "friedrich",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T23:33:24",
"content": "Hey, thanks for posting! The people with the Kinect puppet live right around the corner from me and are good friends.Kinect support is part of the software too! I just haven’t gotten around to document it yet.I am currently running a kickstarter for this project here (http://kck.st/fLxdrX) and you can get an arduino kit as a reward (that will work with that example shown above).",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,201.494067
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/29/hdd-unlocking-on-the-mitsubishi-multi-communication-system/
|
HDD Unlocking On The Mitsubishi Multi-Communication System
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"Security Hacks",
"Transportation Hacks"
] |
[
"hard drive",
"hdparm",
"mitsubishi",
"mmcs",
"password"
] |
It’s a few years old, but [Brian360’s] method of
unlocking the hard drive on his Mitsubishi Multi-Communication System
is quite interesting. Mitsubishi describes their
MMCS
as a human-vehicle communication tool. It’s basically an in-dash screen and controls to display navigation maps and play music. [Brian] found that the hard drive for the MMCS in his 2008 Lancer was locked, and could not be cloned and swapped out for a larger drive. Sound familiar to anyone? Hard drive locking has been used in many systems, including the original Xbox, which we’ll get back to in a minute.
The setup seen above was used to grab the hard drive password from the system itself. A custom adapter card was built and plugged in between the hard drive and the MMCS hardware, with test points for each of the data line. [Brian] attached a digital storage oscilloscope, and after a bit of poking around, found a way to trigger the scope when the password was requested. He explains the process of converting the captured data into an ASCII string password.
With that in hand how would you unlock the drive? The favorite tool for this is hdparm, a tool which was used with early Xbox unlocking but which is
still in use with other hardware today
. Now brian has a disk image backup and the ability to swap out for larger hardware.
[Thanks Traitorous8]
| 15
| 15
|
[
{
"comment_id": "387986",
"author": "Chris Muncy",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T15:44:01",
"content": "Between doing hacks like this and intercepting CAN-BUS communications it makes me wish I had a new car to try this stuff with….Good job.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388009",
"author": "akwrfaefd",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T16:37:07",
"content": "Now THAT’S a hack!… and a thing of pure beauty.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388014",
"author": "Keith",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T16:43:15",
"content": "@Chris MuncyMe too … except for the monthly payment",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388030",
"author": "M4CGYV3R",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T17:34:42",
"content": "@Chris & Keith:For a couple of those monthly payments you can construct a pretty badass carputer that you don’t even need to reverse engineer and will work in any car.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388047",
"author": "Michael E",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T18:40:51",
"content": "So many logic probes.. That’s really cool!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388065",
"author": "Jakob",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T19:15:25",
"content": "Donnt understand a shit, but it looks great!!! Will have another beer and go stright to the foggy side of the world…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388071",
"author": "boarder2k7",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T19:37:10",
"content": "@M4CGYV3RThe problem with carputers is that you can’t install them reliably in new cars. Many, if not most, new cars that have integrated entertainment systems cannot operate if the system is removed, thus making upgrading the system important if you want more space for things. Those “40 GB” navigation and entertainment systems typically only have about 10GB available to the end user due to the size of the maps.The reason you can’t take them out is that the integrated controls will often do things like control the fans, internal temperature and other things that you want to operate. Sadly in the name of “features” we have given up things like the ability to chose what radio you want to install in your car…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388084",
"author": "JB",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T20:04:15",
"content": "Mmm… my 21 year old niece got a basic new car with no radio and manual everything (one of those little Hyundais-2011). That’s the type of platform to get if you want to put all your custom stuff. They come with only the speakers and the antenna. You have to supply your own sound system (they fill the hole with a clock) Carputers are prefect for cars like this one.More expensive vehicles suffer from integration “featuritis” and you can’t remove the factory crap because you lose power windows, AC, heat, etc. Doing it in cars like these becomes a major hack. Kudos to this dude for hacking the Mitsubishi HDD.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388142",
"author": "Traitorous8",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T21:53:09",
"content": "@boarder2k7 – Brian360 and I have been working on canbus for a couple of years now. The original intent was for pinball but in the process we created analyzer.I’ve used it to RE most of the sensors in new cars (window positions, brake light status, transmission status, door status, light control, remote control).You are correct that it’s typically hard/impossible to remove the existing integrated systems but there’s still room to add functionality on top of what is built in. It’s just much harder.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388169",
"author": "Steve",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T23:09:53",
"content": "@boarder2k7 – taking brand new cars and ripping them apart to figure out how they work and how to install aftermarket radios is actually my fall time job :D With a lot of radios now you can just buy an interface that emulates the functionality of the original radio so you can just install whatever you like.It’s an awesome job being thrown the keys to a new car and being told “Make this radio work in that car, keeping all features”.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388292",
"author": "Red Comet",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T06:28:48",
"content": "They need to pass some sort of law making it illegal for a car manufacture to integrate AC heater functions with the entertainment system.It’s one reason I largely have avoided getting a very new car.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388331",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T08:57:42",
"content": "What do you do during the other seasons?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388428",
"author": "DarkFader",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T14:07:52",
"content": "So, is Sanda-city worth visiting?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388454",
"author": "R3CVR5!>3",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T14:49:20",
"content": "I have a Hyundai Santa Fe, and it was about half the price of the other SUV’s I was looking at, but had all the features… and I can actually kind of work on the thing! My other car is over 65 years old, and the closest thing it has to a computer is the valve-state radio. With pushbutton control.*wewt*Anyhow, the hyundai uses standard connectors and interfaces, and if you take out the stereo, you’re JUST taking out the stereo. I wish more manufacturers would put out more of an “isolated systems on a net” than the unholy cross-dependent mess we see when popping the dash off something like a Cadillac.Excellent debugging, O.P., excellent indeed.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "3853832",
"author": "Adam",
"timestamp": "2017-08-03T01:36:16",
"content": "Cane I copy mosick from hhd tmitsubishi to my computer??",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,201.608105
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/29/a-beginners-guide-to-led-matrices/
|
A Beginner’s Guide To LED Matrices
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"classic hacks",
"LED Hacks"
] |
[
"led",
"matrix",
"multiplexing",
"persistence of vision",
"pic",
"tutorial"
] |
[Rajendra Bhatt] wrote in to share a tutorial he put together demonstrating
the basics of using LED dot matrix displays
. While this subject might be old hat to many out there, his helpful walkthroughs are geared more towards beginners who are exploring various electronics concepts for the first time.
He explains the theory behind LED displays using a PIC-driven 5×7 matrix as an example. He discusses persistence of vision and how tricking the human eye can save you quite a bit of time and a whole lot of pins. Multiplexing is broken down into its most basic steps, which [Rajendra] illustrates by showing how a letter would be drawn on the LED display one column at a time. The use of a ULN2803A Darlington Array is also discussed, and he details why it is used when pulling the five columns of LEDs to ground.
The only portion of the tutorial we thought could be expanded upon was the programming section. While he does show how each letter of the alphabet can be displayed via a series of five hex values, he does not cover the “why” part of the process. Obviously while anyone familiar with binary and hex can figure it out in pretty short order, we think that it would be a great place to pause and expand the readers’ knowledge even more.
Overall it’s a useful tutorial, and most beginners would likely find it quite helpful.
| 4
| 4
|
[
{
"comment_id": "387945",
"author": "Andrew Garza",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T14:19:41",
"content": "Great tutorial. I just recently watched another video on LED Matrices by Colin Cunningham of Make magazine. Beginners should check that one out as well.http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2011/03/circuit-skills-led-matrix-sponsored-by-jameco-electronics.html",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388013",
"author": "dustandechoes91",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T16:41:43",
"content": "Does anyone know if it is easy to remove the plastic shell on these so you have a bare matrix?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388019",
"author": "PocketBrain",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T17:07:05",
"content": "@dustandechoes91:Nope, they are mostly potted PCBs with SMT LEDs.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388039",
"author": "Andrew Garza",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T18:27:49",
"content": "@dustandechoes91Just curious as to what you would do if you could remove the plastic encasing?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,201.99516
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/29/phillip-torrone-pleads-for-companies-to-open-source-discontinued-projects/
|
[Phillip Torrone] Pleads For Companies To Open Source Discontinued Projects
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"HackIt"
] |
[
"open source"
] |
[PT] just published an editorial calling on manufactures to
transfer knowledge about products they are discontinuing by making them open source
. He makes his case on the basis that millions of dollars and innumerable man hours go into developing these products, only to be lost when the company decides that the project is no longer (or maybe never was) profitable. We have to say he’s got a point. Granted the answer to “why not?” is that companies don’t want to give any help to their competitors. But just think of the opportunities lost to society when we can’t build on the work of others.
Now [Phillip] doesn’t stop with his plea for new policies. He goes on to list and defend a few products that are already dead and buried, for which he wishes the secrets had first been shared. These include the Palm V personal data assistant, IBM’s Deep Blue, Sony’s robotic toys/pets, and several others. For what it’s worth, we can think of one company that’s a shining example of this;
the source code for Doom
, which id Software released for non-profit use more than a decade ago. Good for you id!
| 48
| 48
|
[
{
"comment_id": "387907",
"author": "KanchoBlindside",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T13:08:46",
"content": "Software companies, especially.Ahem. AUTO ASSAULTThey refused to even SELL me the code for 25k, which is more than what their entire final year brought in. Great game, they killed it with dozens of servers on launch, along with near zero advertizing.They merged the servers far too late; even their bonuses they gave for renewers died; people found other games.Amazing, I’ve only encountered ONE bug in the game, which is something I do out of habit. They fixed it immediately. I miss that game…one of the best MMOs out there besides EVE and Anarchy Online. *sigh*",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387911",
"author": "Daid",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T13:24:03",
"content": "This is so wrong. It sets the wrong idea about open source.It should read “If you want ti give it a chance of life again, open source it!”If you want to kill something, then you bury it, deeply.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387912",
"author": "Chris",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T13:24:42",
"content": "3D Realms did good by open sourcing the first duke nukem episodes.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387934",
"author": "st2000",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T14:03:07",
"content": "I like the idea – but this is so complex I don’t think it will catch on. For instance there are many projects which die but the Intellectual Property (design & software) lives on in other commercial projects. Even if there is only a chance it will live on commercially, I don’t see owners giving up hope.The only way I see this working is to get the owners buy in at the beginning. Admittedly not easy. Didn’t the guy that started TIVO do that? Didn’t he say if TIVO went under that the source code would be released?Hum, maybe this movement needs a “If we go under we’ll give you the source code” label. You know. Like the “dolphin safe” label or the “this food is kosher” label. Copyright it and add a trivial charge for it to support the effort’s web presence. See if you can get a lawyer from that “free software foundation” place to look it over. Say: “With this label, customers would be more willing to buy your product”.Hum, I like this idea. Now it’s starting to sound possible.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387936",
"author": "Naturality",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T14:07:32",
"content": "John Carmack!That is all.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387937",
"author": "Brett W. (FightCube.com)",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T14:10:13",
"content": "I like st2000’s idea, Seconded!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387939",
"author": "Josh",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T14:14:20",
"content": "st2000 makes a valid point that can’t be ignored. We’ve seen IP that gets buried only to be reawakened after a few generations either as an organic rebirth, or as a result of an acquisition from another company. These trade secrets, patents, and other forms of IP may be useless in the present, but may be valuable in the future. Open sourcing may destroy this exclusivity.BUT the article makes a good point too. Open sourcing doesn’t necessarily mean sacrificing IP rights. And we all know how valuable open source projects and content can be. This is definitely a case-by-case thing.If I were to ever go on and earn my Ph.D. in some field of business (marketing/new product development…or even my JD if I ever got interested in IP law), I would love to explore this topic as I’m willing to bet the level of scholarly research on this is very limited.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387940",
"author": "hpux735",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T14:15:46",
"content": "I’m still sad about BeOS. Sold to Palm about 7 years ago, they didn’t do anything with it, HP buys Palm, and now I’m sure I’ll never see it again. By far the best OS in the late ’90s and early 2000’s. They had a database filesystem when microsoft was just talking about “WinFS!”",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387949",
"author": "KanchoBlindside",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T14:24:10",
"content": "Hm, I guess I’m conflicted on this now that I think about it.“Dead” projects might be “dead” for a number of reasons; no market, no reasonable/efficient use at the time, change in company direction, production or distribution hardships, or simply lack of funding.A company that goes bankrupt cannot declare something they have given away to be of any satisfactory value when dealing with creditors in court. Keeping things secret by killing them might be a valuable resource to them should things go wrong…When intermittent windshield wipers were “developed”, the assumption was nobody wanted them. Within a short time, it was bad to NOT have them. When society or technology changes, that “useless” thing might become a valuable tool in the future.The owners of the property should be the deciding factor in all cases I can think of so far.I also see this:Company ABC decides to kill their product, and makes it open source, without any benefit other than PR that they may have to pay for.[DudeHax0r_911lol] will take this, make something useful out of it, but only 1% is his creation. He sells the idea to an entrepreneur and makes a fast buck. It’s now copyrighted because it isnt 100% OS. Problems arise and the investor cant raise enough money to do anything with it, so he lets it die.The originator gets nothing, an investor loses money, and the product is still dead…and [DudeHax0r_911lol] barely does anything and makes money off it.That’s kinda “wrong”@st2000 I *LOVE* your idea. Will enough people care, though? I assume most of “our” friends like the same things and hack, but thats how we seem to think everyone is, as its our own closed circle of friends. When I meet new people, most couldnt give a crap about hacking or my hobby, no matter how much it relates to their interests…much like how I dont pollute the sea or kill animals for the hell of it but I could care less about a “dolphin-free” label on my tuna. I just want good tuna.Much to think about with this one…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387950",
"author": "KanchoBlindside",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T14:26:10",
"content": "@hpux735:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haiku_(operating_system)“BeHappy” :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387957",
"author": "andar_b",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T14:44:14",
"content": "There are a few projects that I wish were done this way, Ultima X Online, Ultima 8 pt 2, and the drivers for the Aiptek Tablet I have XD.(Seriously, do they think APEtek was a good marketing strategy?)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387958",
"author": "fartface",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T14:46:26",
"content": "Will never happen. Corporations are like the greedy brat on the playground not sharing his ball.MINE!MINE!MINE!Very few understand how to be a civilized member of society and give back or share.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387960",
"author": "Callan",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T14:50:08",
"content": "Diablo II, anyone?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387969",
"author": "st2000",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T15:03:21",
"content": "Greedy brat wana shiny new open source logo?!Here greedy, here greedy greedy greedy.You’ll never know unless you try. :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387974",
"author": "turn.self.off",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T15:08:00",
"content": "Not going to happen, as they would then basically be competing against themselves. That have been the basic problem for industries of all kinds since post-WW2. Humanity have become so good at making stuff that we can potentially flood the world with cheap devices that last virtually forever with a bit of basic maintenance. So the only real way to keep the capitalist system going is to make sure that they do not last forever. And that is done via parts that is engineered to break after x years, with no replacements stocked (except for replacing it with a whole new device, that starts the cycle all over again). Planned obsolescence basically.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387984",
"author": "Doktor Jeep",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T15:31:25",
"content": "I like the solution where it’s either hacked or other open source projects force them to open source their own.Asking nicely never hurt though. But if they don’t want to be nice, well that’s the environment they want, they get it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387987",
"author": "hawkeyaez1",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T15:44:28",
"content": "Another shining example is Parallax’s Decent (1 & 2) which is quite comparable to Doom.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388001",
"author": "xorpunk",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T16:25:21",
"content": "malware authors and small manufacturers would love this too..I don’t make six figures though, so I’m sure I don’t know what I’m talking about ^^",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388003",
"author": "Luke",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T16:26:47",
"content": "Forget the big stuff – how about if they just open source things like scanner/printer/widget drivers? I have seen lots of old hardware no longer used simply because there are no drivers available for them in upgraded OS versions. Perfectly functional hardware is trashed for no good reason. If the drivers were open-sourced, these products could continue to be useful.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388006",
"author": "pt",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T16:34:08",
"content": "one quick thing i wanted to add (and mention here) – many people do open source hardware, just one of the many reasons is to preemptively deal with many of challenges people are bringing up. when you do OSHW your work and designs can/will outlive yourself & companies.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388015",
"author": "dan fruzzetti",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T16:49:59",
"content": "Doom and id Software were my big thoughts also. Thanks for getting me all nostalgic",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388022",
"author": "mike bradley",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T17:23:17",
"content": "I agree win most posts on this subject. I just want to add my 2 cents, I have designed a comercial product that died, however, a core piece of technology in it, I still use in other products. I can only assume this is par for the course on alot of hardware?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388028",
"author": "t&p",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T17:32:03",
"content": "I think a few other people made this point that the source for alot of dead stuff isn’t exactly dead. Most companies like to just make a new product without it truly being new. Nintendo’s projects come to mind. The DS still uses the same type of hardware and and software down the generations along with the gamecube and WII. Maybe even with their new upcoming console. Or photoshop and windows for another example. Don’t expect win 95 to be open source because they still use alot of that stuff in it today!Most companies just rebrand their stuff to resale as “new,” but internally it’s the same product in a different shell with new bells and whistles.So no this stuff isn’t going to get released because they still use it in those new products.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388037",
"author": "Seth",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T18:20:29",
"content": "I’d love to see the Sony open up the Mylo. That could be a very useful device…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388043",
"author": "Hirudinea",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T18:34:31",
"content": "Why would any company want to release a good, old product to open source when they can make so much more money selling crappy new products every quarter.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388057",
"author": "therian",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T19:03:24",
"content": "so it seems you don’t like capitalism, didn’t you parent fight war for it ?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388060",
"author": "echodelta",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T19:07:03",
"content": "While listening to Science Friday on NPR on the subject of annoying things and sounds etc, I see the most annoying phone keypad I have ever seen.Crush it now!There is a simple solution though to the problem. Don’t buy closed source anything, yet alone arty-farty designed goods. Don’t read closed source info. Fill the dock at Goodwill, cause that’s what we are told to do with our e-trash in Indiana now.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388062",
"author": "florinzgtrst",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T19:08:15",
"content": "YES!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388070",
"author": "Sodor",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T19:35:26",
"content": "I want to see 3D Realms releasing his blood source code",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388095",
"author": "J. Peterson",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T20:44:56",
"content": "Here’s another example: Intelreleasedthe schematics and mask sets to the 4004 CPU.Many other “commercial” chips have been re-created in source form at theOpenCoressite.If something is truly popular and worthwhile, the open-source community often re-creates something similar, whether or not the original is extinct.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388152",
"author": "Nathan",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T22:15:53",
"content": "All of the comments so far have missed one glaring point.Product A may depend on Product B, C and D licensed from 3 different companies. Often, B, C and D will give source code licenses to Company A so they can make Product A.Product A is now a flop/dead but the codebase includes product B, C and D’s source, sometimes customized just for Product A.They could release Product A’s source code, but it is probaby useless without B, C, and D’s source too, all of which may still be viable products / libraries.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388158",
"author": "crashsuit",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T22:35:05",
"content": "Didn’t Bungie do something like this with the Marathon Trilogy? I know I’ve played it a few times on Windows, anyways.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388180",
"author": "Gene",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T23:19:58",
"content": "The only way to get companies to do this would be if our less then useful government gave them a tax break, either as recycling, or depreciation of an asset.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388215",
"author": "Amos",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T01:07:11",
"content": "I think st2000’s idea would have the opposite effect, wouldn’t it? If you want to have the source to something, wouldn’t you refrain from buying it so that it /does/ go under? I doubt if there are enough hackers/makers on either side (would buy/wouldn’t buy) to make a difference, though.I think we just need a complete reboot of the patent/trademark system. It’s gotten way out of hand.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388222",
"author": "t&p",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T01:41:42",
"content": "@SodorThe game Blood? I have asked about it. Seems they would do it, but the source to it was lost long ago. So sadly no one has it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388226",
"author": "Maave",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T01:58:57",
"content": "Sounds like a good idea but it wouldn’t fare well with companies and software. Any large hardware/software company would have code that they don’t want released for a variety of reasons- private or secret code (such as a cipher key) has been used, vulnerabilities may (and probably do) exist, code is shared with other devices, etc. I bet phone companies don’t want you taking a look at the way they encrypt network traffic. If a company donates code to the public and vulnerabilities are found then the current users of the product are screwed, that company no longer maintains the product. If the company releases code then the methods used could be compared to current products to reverse-engineer it.Donating code may be benevolent but the risk isn’t worth it to most companies. The code will benefit very few and could endanger the company or its users.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388256",
"author": "therian",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T03:32:03",
"content": "if you desire open source so much why you buy shinny apple crap ? hypocrites",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388279",
"author": "Ben Bradley",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T05:35:46",
"content": "I think source code should be released NOT after a company stops selling a product, but after it stops SUPPORTING it (which admittedly for the listed products happened at the same time). The pressure on companies should be either continue to support the products already sold, or let out the documents. Unfortunately, too much wonderful stuff gets effectively lost in big warehouses, just like that thing at the end of “Raider of The Lost Arc.”",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388290",
"author": "D_",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T06:06:42",
"content": "Open Source, and capitalism aren’t incompatible. Open source may be incompatible with an economic model based ever growing consumption beyond basic survival needs. In any event if open source is going to be anything, it’s going have prove it can create products that people want to purchase. And that those products can be manufactured for a fair return on investment. I’m not sure for calling for open source for products, that have already shot their wad as the general public is concern, can move open source along. Folks it’s called commerce. Commerce takes place in every society, even under communism. Perhaps not within North Korea, but that country, is a sad exception to the rest of the world in most regards.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388425",
"author": "abobymouse",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T14:04:02",
"content": "I’d like to see ancient computers, like ZX80 / ZX81 / Spectrum; Vic20 etc open sourced.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388521",
"author": "Selfsilent",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T17:50:56",
"content": "Odd question and off topic (sorry) but the Nokia coffin, is it based on an actual Nokia phone?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388589",
"author": "Drew",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T20:11:37",
"content": "There’s really no reason for them to do this, especially because they probably re-use old software and hardware designs in-house, and they don’t want to give them away.“Dead” products can still make their companies money, too, especially software companies. Take a look at Nintendo, for instance, who often remakes their old games into newer ones, or Microsoft, who loves to reuse code.Would it be cool? Yeah, I mean, it would be nice for a specific group of people to have the source available to them, but from a business standpoint, it’s a loss.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389003",
"author": "Texas Toast",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T01:15:25",
"content": "I’m sorry, but Phillip is an idiot.Yes, MANY man hours go into the development of such a product.What happens to those man hours?THEY ARE USED TO AID FUTURE PROJECTS.Phillip is asking manufacturers to give up millions of dollars of knowledge and experience gained by their investment. Why the HELL would anyone do that? It makes no sense! It would give your competitors an inside look in to your engineering practices.Phillip, you need to take your mouth off of the bong, and go get a dose of reality. It would do you a lot of good!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389155",
"author": "KanchoBlindside",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T11:46:51",
"content": "Who is greedier…the corporations who spend millions on developing things, or the hacker community that want everything for free without even a “thank you” to corporations that ALREADY have provided so many free things.As far as you non-engineer types, are you actually accusing me of engineering things to break in order to make MORE money? Are you stupid? Look at car ownership loyalty. There’s a reason people stopped buying GMs in the late 70s and early 1980s; the quality didn’t exist; old designs were thrown together with barely a style change and all the union workers didnt care either, so they werent even built right.You whacko “anti-capitalists” need to GTFO, you lunatics. If there was a conspiracy, someone would have talked by now, not just you guys who arent in the loop at all.I hate where these threads always go. Always catering to imaginary charity rather than the pursuit of knowledge. Jerkwads.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389187",
"author": "Texas Toast",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T13:36:37",
"content": "@KanchoBlindsideThe only place that these people can call themselves “hackers” is here, at a site where the term is used so loosely that it no longer has meaning.The days of real hackers are virtually gone, with few people actually truly reverse engineering a product and then modifying it (ON THEIR OWN) to do something that it was never meant to do. Instead, they feed off of write-ups and do-it-yourself instructions of past projects, then get their material posted as if they have done something worth mentioning.Don’t get me wrong, creativity still exists, but a vast majority of *real* hackers are employed as some sort of engineer, and therefore their work is generally not published! You may see the end result of their work as a finished product, but the intermediate steps (like reverse engineering the competitor’s product) will never be published.I get kind of sick of a bunch of non-hackers patting each other on the back and calling each other “hackers”, but at the same time, I find the site intriguing, mainly due to the occaisonal interesting write-up such as the one relating to the remote-control hummingbird a while back :D",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389348",
"author": "Mike",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T20:42:15",
"content": "There are a lot of us that would like to see the source code for Honda ECUs from 1988-1995 released (with some comments please!) so we can stop poking through raw assembly code trying to figure out wtf the Honda engineers were up to. Given that OBDII has rendered all the old hardware and software obsolete there’s not much to protect.Although now that I think about it, competitors to Honda’s small engines would probably like to have that knowledge to get a leg up on fuel injection.I still want it though!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389432",
"author": "Jonathan Wilson",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T01:17:53",
"content": "Sometimes there are safety or regulatory issues with open-sourcing stuff. (car ECUs being an example of where open-sourcing them could lead to safety issues, especially on cars with computer controlled safety systems like airbags or to regulatory issues related to things like emissions)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "398023",
"author": "Kuhltwo",
"timestamp": "2011-05-25T22:55:38",
"content": "I agree to some extent to open source. My pet peeve is car makers the claim “proprietary rights” to obsolete hardware. I have a 1988 Mercury. one of the first all electronic displays. No way to repair or troubleshoot it because of “PRights”. The same goes for older, but perfectly functional printers, scanners, cameras, etc.The iFixit manifesto has the right idea.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,202.141061
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/29/chonotune-listen-to-radio-by-year-not-by-frequency/
|
ChronoTune: Listen To Radio By Year, Not By Frequency
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"Arduino Hacks",
"Hackerspaces"
] |
[
"isd",
"radio",
"rotary encoder"
] |
The ChronoTune is
a radio that plays sounds from different eras
. This project was developed as an entry for the Redbull Creation Challenge by some members of
i3Detroit
, a hackerspace in the motor city. It allows a user to turn the dial to tune in a new moment in history, but they can also listen in on the present day. They’ll be greeted with the sounds of a tuning radio, followed by music or audio clips common to the period displayed on the dial.
As you know from
the last contest entry
, each project must use an Arduino to qualify. It reads a rotary encoder attached to one of the knobs on the front of the case. This doesn’t directly move the tuning needle. Instead, it’s attached to the guts of an inkjet printer to move it back and forth. This lets the radio tune itself if need be.
The audio is played from several sources. There is an MP3 module that allows for longer clips, but there are also some ISD voice recorder chip modules that play back shorter clips. If the dial is tuned to present day, an FM radio module tunes in a station over the air.
Having trouble reading that dial? Don’t worry, there’s a simulated Nixie tube display sticking out the top of the case to provide a digital readout of the currently selected time period. Check out the video after the break to see the team walk us through each part of the ChronoTune.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/user/i3Detroit#p/u/2/udy-7MA6aWw&w=470]
[Thanks Duncan]
| 11
| 11
|
[
{
"comment_id": "387880",
"author": "fred",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T12:10:09",
"content": "typo in title – “Chono” ?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387899",
"author": "Eric",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T12:48:14",
"content": "what video? as of 0547PDT there is none",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387902",
"author": "Doc Oct",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T12:58:01",
"content": "Someone dedicated enough could record their favorite radio station 24/7 and achieve something like this. I have some 3 hour blocks of one of my local stations recorded for the purpose of nostalgia one day. I was recording that from their online stream but it’s been less than reliable. I really ought to set up some sort of dedicated receiver, especially since they are only a couple miles from here. For size sake I really wish I could do song id on those recordings and remove a lot of redundancy, replacing multiple copies in each recording with a link to just one clip of each song. Maybe something like that could extract redundant content and build a m3u with the unique clips split up with redundant clips in between. Hmm.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387905",
"author": "Graham",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T13:03:45",
"content": "Haha, first thing I saw was the typo in the title too. Interesting concept nonetheless. It actually makes a lot of sense to make a player like this. Sometimes you’re in the mood to hear some oldies.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387932",
"author": "jeff-o",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T13:55:38",
"content": "What a neat idea! I’d like to see this tied to a large music library, where tuning the radio generates a playlist based on the year.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387981",
"author": "cdkr",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T15:22:51",
"content": "Intresting, I had a similar idea except with for TV programs,kind of a generative playlist for your media player, ie you select “1960’s television”and you get a constant playlist of 60’s TV shows and news-clips, with period adverts in between.Maybe could use archive.org’s video collection for the source of all the content.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388002",
"author": "Frederick",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T16:26:24",
"content": "How does it handle new artists covering old songs? Or a version of an old song performed recently by the original artists who are still alive and touring? Can it run angrybirds?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388073",
"author": "echodelta",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T19:40:28",
"content": "How far back? The last 35 years are blank. Hopefully it goes back to the beginning of recorded music.I tell many kids dissatisfied with music from the time they have to live in, how to navigate such a device. Start with The Decade (’65-’75)! Set your browsing by year, yes there are exceptions. Forget song titles! The next time focus, (’20-’35) hot not sweet of course!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388199",
"author": "Ugly American",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T00:00:51",
"content": "Very cool and fun idea!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388274",
"author": "Ben Bradley",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T05:05:30",
"content": "A SIMULATED Nixie tube display? Real Nixie tubes are available, and they’re not THAT expensive.Speaking of radio nostalgia, I’m looking for a playlist of any info for WPLO-FM, about 1966 to 1975. This was “Underground FM” in Atlanta, it was comparable to the college stations as being an alternative to top-40 stations.Oh, and that radio’s audio section should have a two-stage vacuum tube audio section, transformer output, class A all the way – 12AV6 and looks like there was a 12C5 version of the 50C5. THAT is how I listened to the radio back then.Other than that, good hack. :-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389393",
"author": "manuel",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T22:54:46",
"content": "I built something very similar one year ago. a radio that works like a time machine. it doesn’t play music, but news. at first it loads the most recent news. when you choose a topic you can scroll with the tuning wheel in the past an get older articles matching to this topic. watch the video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sst8vwcz7fg",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,202.240542
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/29/the-start-to-finish-of-an-interactive-exhibit/
|
The Start To Finish Of An Interactive Exhibit
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"LED Hacks"
] |
[
"arduino",
"capacitive sensing library",
"capacitive sensor",
"shiftbrite",
"xbee"
] |
[Andrew & Deborah O’Malley] were tapped to created an interactive exhibit. The mission was to show that social problems take continual support from a lot of people before they can be solved. The piece needed to be architectural in nature, and they ended up building this
touch-sensitive model building with individually lighted windows
.
The project log that the [O’Malleys] posted shows a well executed battle plan. They used tools we’re all familiar with to achieve a highly polished and pleasing result. The planning stages involved a virtual mock-up using Google SketchUp. The details needed to order the shell from a fabricator were pulled from this early work, while the team set their sights on the electronics that shed light and that make the piece interactive. The former is provided by a
Shiftbrite module
for each window, the latter comes from the
Capacitive Sensing Library
for Arduino. Despite some difficulty in tuning the capacitive grid, and getting all of those Shiftbrites to talk to each other, the exhibit went swimmingly. It’s not hard to imagine how easy it is to start a conversation once attendees are attracted by the seductive powers of touch sensitive blinky lights.
| 7
| 7
|
[
{
"comment_id": "387884",
"author": "fartface",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T12:21:43",
"content": "They should have used 120 iphones.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387953",
"author": "Andrew O'Malley",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T14:29:36",
"content": "^ hah, budgetary restraints . . . we thought of it, believe me!Thanks for sharing on the site, HaD!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388412",
"author": "ColinB",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T13:12:47",
"content": "I’m most interested in how the capacitive touch sensing worked. It looks like they are using a matrix of row/column electrodes that consist simply of wires. I wonder if increasing the surface area of the electrodes in each cell would improve the sensitivity to touch (and thus improve the SNR). Because the light in the window should not be obscured, it might take some effort to come up with a suitable electrode, however.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388591",
"author": "Drew",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T20:24:49",
"content": "Newbie’s guide to an “interactive art exhibit”*Use an Arduino along with other development boards in your final design*Use LEDs*Put it in some sort of enclosure that looks familiar (an old TV, a building, a garden)*Maybe involve some quirky way to interface with it",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388611",
"author": "Andrew O'Malley",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T22:11:31",
"content": "^ Feel free to show us how the pros do it, Drew!@ColinB, finding the right balance between sensor surface area and lighting translucency is definitely a challenge.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389638",
"author": "Andrew Parnell",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T16:08:49",
"content": "Newbie’s guide to a “painting”*Use a brush, roller, or maybe a sponge*Use paint*Put it on some sort of material that looks familiar (canvas, a piece of wood, paper)*Maybe draw some fruit or a landscape or something.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "515135",
"author": "Derek Tracy",
"timestamp": "2011-11-21T22:20:32",
"content": "I picture something like this installed on wall at home / Tic-Tac-Toe with the kids, they would have a blast!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,202.188823
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/28/a-visual-history-of-the-computer-mouse/
|
A Visual History Of The Computer Mouse
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"News"
] |
[
"history",
"mouse",
"visual"
] |
As we all go about our day to day activities, it’s easy to get lost in technology and take for granted things that have slowly evolved over long periods of time. Take for instance the mouse on your desk. Whether it’s a standard 2-button mouse with a scroll wheel or a magic mouse with no buttons at all, we’re all a bit spoiled when you think about it.
Dvice recently published a visual history of the computer mouse,
which is quite interesting. The first pointing device that relied on hand motions to move a cursor was created by the Royal Canadian Navy in 1952. This trackball device, which is predates all other mechanical pointing devices, was crafted using a 5-pin bowling ball and an array of mechanical encoders that tracked the ball’s movement.
As time went on, other mouse-type devices came and went, but it was 30 years ago yesterday that Xerox unveiled the world’s first optical mouse at its PARC facility. The mouse used LEDs and optical sensors along with specialized mouse pads to track the user’s movements. The tech is primitive compared to today’s offerings, but it’s a nice reminder of the humble beginnings something you use every single day.
Be sure to swing by the Dvice site and take a look at how the mouse has evolved over the years – it’s a great way to kill a few minutes.
| 18
| 18
|
[
{
"comment_id": "387593",
"author": "Stryker",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T20:46:15",
"content": "I can’t believe you didn’t mention gyro mice. :(",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387594",
"author": "YT2095",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T20:49:03",
"content": "as tweeted, behind that PCB at the front, that looks Sooooo… like a Valve (vacuum tube) Shield, surely that wasn`t the case?Please tell me it`s an old condensor, and that nobody ever got killed using one after spilling coffee! :D",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387599",
"author": "PocketBrain",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T21:11:11",
"content": "I think that would be called a trackball. The mouse was just an upside-down trackball. Nothing like defending your cities with the original size and weight.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387603",
"author": "Hitek146",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T21:23:28",
"content": "Interesting article. Somewhere I have a prototype miniature trackball that I got when I worked at TI that was machined out of a solid piece of aluminum. You could actually use it as a weapon! :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387633",
"author": "Sariel",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T23:10:02",
"content": "@hitek146proof enough that they don’t make ’em like they used to. throw a wireless mouse across the room in your cs:s fury, see how long it lasts. lol",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387683",
"author": "Hirudinea",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T01:16:43",
"content": "You want to talk about a weapon, try whipping a 5 pin ball at someone!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387704",
"author": "Standard Mischief",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T02:37:31",
"content": "The thing with Xerox is, well, if they had invented sushi they would try to market it as “RAW DEAD FISH!” to the masses.Go Xerox, and you may be given permission to save the product of your labor on the most expensive, obscure, backwater, obfuscated format and media possible.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387707",
"author": "Standard Mischief",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T02:45:27",
"content": ">behind that PCB at the front, that looks Sooooo… like a Valve (vacuum tube) Shield, surely that wasn`t the case?Sorry, looks nothing vacuum tube related to me.I’m grooving on what looks like a compressed air inlet out front. It looks like the bowling ball rides on an air bearing. The whole assembly looks like it mounts to the underside of a desk, and you need to drill a hole in the desk to let you manipulate the trackball.Oh, and there are 4 encoder wheels, even though you really only need 2. Redundancy!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387718",
"author": "wulfman",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T03:14:33",
"content": "Yes that is indeed a vacuum tube. That is a shield that went over the tube to curtail X-Rays.Gotta love that 50’s tech",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387752",
"author": "Jake H",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T04:40:14",
"content": "Re: four encoders. I have a feeling they can only measure in one direction, and the ball shifts slightly so it is only in contact with non-opposing wheels. With 50s tech I imagine it would be easier to do it mechanically this way than electronically with quadrature…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387755",
"author": "Jake H",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T04:45:54",
"content": "And there’s no way that’s *not* a vacuum tube/valve! I like the idea of the air cushion a lot. I bet it’s true!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387795",
"author": "Daid",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T07:08:43",
"content": "I’m not the only one thinking “a bowling ball mounted in a table to function as a huge trackball would be a great hack!”",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387820",
"author": "error404",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T08:12:09",
"content": "Had no idea this was a Canadian invention. Neat. That setup reminds me a lot of those bowling/golf video consoles at bars/pool halls/bowling alleys. Large, heavy trackball mounted in the console just poking out for manipulation.Also this history is ridiculous. No mention of the first modern optical mouse (but its successor, the laser mouse gets a call-out)? No mention of the first scroll mouse?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387910",
"author": "1981",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T13:23:22",
"content": "Telefunken had developed a Mouse predecessor in early 1960’s, called “Rollkugel”German Article with Pictures:http://www.heise.de/ct/meldung/Auf-den-Spuren-der-deutschen-Computermaus-216255.html",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387933",
"author": "jeff-o",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T14:01:58",
"content": "Now that’s what I call a trackball! 50 points to the first person who makes a modern version of this!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387971",
"author": "mikelist",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T15:03:57",
"content": "never understood why trackballs haven’t been more popular, they make so much more sense. less space taken up on the desk, ergonomically easier.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388272",
"author": "D_",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T04:51:25",
"content": "@YT2095; circa 1953, I have no doubt it was a vacuum tube. Why not? A tube must had had been many times more time robust than any transistor available at the time. I Do want a bowling ball sized track ball that use tubular devices. failing that a billet aluminum case for my optical mouse.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389087",
"author": "Per Jensen",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T05:22:45",
"content": "The four optical sensors are actually there for a reason, but not redundancy. As the trackball in the Apple Mightly Mouse and i some BlackBerry’s – the sensing mechanism is done with small rotating magnets and hall-sensors, thus no way to differ from rolling one way or the other, so the mechanism only rolls the one you are pushing against a small fraction.http://www.catsystems.in/productimages/98.jpg",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,203.163461
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/28/wooden-bike-hopes-to-set-world-record-not-catch-fire/
|
Wooden Bike Hopes To Set World Record, Not Catch Fire
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Transportation Hacks"
] |
[
"bike",
"wood",
"world record"
] |
[Michael Thompson] has been hard at work for well over six months
building a bicycle made entirely of wood
. The project started as a bet between two friends, and has become much more over the last few months. The SplinterBike, as it is being called, has been constructed solely from wooden parts, as well as glue and paint – but not much else.
The bike uses many different woods in its construction, each chosen to fulfill a particular purpose. The axles are made from hardwood ekki, while all of the gears, wheels, and frame parts were constructed from birch plywood. Oiled ironwood was chosen to serve as a replacement for metal bearings wherever moving parts came together due to its durability. Other parts were constructed with random scraps that [Michael] had sitting around in the shop, such as the handlebars which were cut from an old broomstick.
Now that the bike is complete, [Michael] and his friend [James] are gearing up to set a wooden bike land speed world record. It should be doable, as they have calculated that the bike should hit about 31 miles per hour provided [James] can pedal fast enough. A date for the record attempt has yet to be set, but keep an eye out – it’s likely to be an entertaining show.
[via
Gizmodo
]
| 21
| 21
|
[
{
"comment_id": "387552",
"author": "chango",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T19:03:10",
"content": "The article says it’s never been out for a test ride for lack of a smooth enough surface to ride on for any distance.Maybe they can ride in one of the tunnels here:http://www.slac.stanford.edu/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387554",
"author": "vmspionage",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T19:07:05",
"content": "They should have added cork shocks",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387559",
"author": "macw",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T19:19:40",
"content": "@chango — or they could just find a velodrome. The wooden wheels might have a problem with the woooden planks of the track but I’d guess that the right kind of wax or something could take care of that.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387584",
"author": "LordNothing",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T20:24:21",
"content": "you know rubber is a tree product, so you could probably get some treads on it without deviating from the all wood mentality.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387609",
"author": "Ryan",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T21:39:01",
"content": "Thats insane. I’ve been impressed by the aesthetics of wood bikes for a while now but going all the way with wood bearings is hardcore.I’m really curious to see how it holds up.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387617",
"author": "Mike",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T22:18:55",
"content": "All great things start as a bet between buddies.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387628",
"author": "Ivan",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T22:51:53",
"content": "It sounds like it will be a bumpy ride. Unless, as vmspionage says, they use a cork-like material for 1. The seat and 2. the wheels.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387670",
"author": "Steve",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T00:45:13",
"content": "Seriously, there’s a world record for speed of a wooden bike?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387681",
"author": "Hirudinea",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T01:12:56",
"content": "I’ve got to admit I love the giant cog to replace the chain, I’ed love to see them on all bikes.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387689",
"author": "jeditalian",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T01:39:41",
"content": "aww, no wooden chain? lol. that would be a huge PITA. i wonder if any wood could hold up well enough to function in a wooden internal combustion engine, for my setting of a record for wooden air speed + distance.. perhaps if you could petrify the wood after milling?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387694",
"author": "syale",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T01:53:21",
"content": "I had a wooden bike once but it wooden ride properly.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387696",
"author": "Digital",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T01:57:28",
"content": "It looks like a cow.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387711",
"author": "nubie",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T02:52:17",
"content": "OK, why can’t they run it on a rubber-surfaced running track?Amazing, it is really cool what can be done when you are determined.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387760",
"author": "unaB",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T04:54:13",
"content": "If that seat breaks off, youre in big trouble",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387800",
"author": "Mr. Name Required",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T07:26:15",
"content": "@unaB LOL!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387812",
"author": "error404",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T07:47:26",
"content": "No link to the actual project page, but instead a weak Guardian article, wtf?http://www.splinterbike.co.uk/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387856",
"author": "KanchoBlindside",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T11:17:07",
"content": "So, if it weighs the same as a duck…then…A WITCH!Subtle but required Monty Python/wood quote.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387935",
"author": "rallen71366",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T14:06:32",
"content": "I thought this might be related to the Splinter supercar, (http://www.joeharmondesign.com) but still, cool.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388085",
"author": "Amos",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T20:07:35",
"content": "Gotta love the giant cog.Regarding shock absorption: what about making a wooden version of the wheel from a “Skip Doctor” (http://www.ineedgifts.net/images/cd_skip_doctor_ts.jpg)@jeditalian: Petrified wood is actually stone, so it wouldn’t count.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388642",
"author": "JediTalian",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T00:45:42",
"content": "isn’t it just wood soaked in minerals? wouldn’t be as light though, but fireproof, for my wooden internal combustion engine!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389024",
"author": "Billy Shoemaker",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T02:41:05",
"content": "I hold two World Land Speed Records at the Bonneville Salt Flats and am ready to help you acccomplish your goal. Contact me if you want some help!Billy Shoemaker512-423-0785",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,203.105753
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/28/frankensteins-lawnmower/
|
Frankenstein’s Lawnmower
|
Kevin Dady
|
[
"Tool Hacks"
] |
[
"lawnmower"
] |
[phantompinecone] has an electric mower that worked great for about 4 seasons, and then the battery started to die. A replacement was installed but it started being a pain after the first season. Since the battery was brand new (and probably costly too)
there must be something else
.
Checking the brushes, which were fine, the next logical place was the switch.These mowers are just a battery, motor, and switch. Yanking it apart there was indeed a problem, they were chewed up and corroded, not allowing full electrical contact. So [phantompinecone] replaced the simple mechanical switch with a MOSFET.
Electrically there is an IRF1405 MOSFET, some resistors to pull signals around and a couple diodes to A) keep the back emf from the motor in check, and B) drop the voltage going into the fet from 24volts to 12. Problem solved, and the motor should not have anymore trouble caused by a junked up switch.
| 22
| 22
|
[
{
"comment_id": "387458",
"author": "xeracy",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T16:06:29",
"content": "why not just replace the corroded switch?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387461",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T16:17:14",
"content": "Welcome to “Hack A Day” dude. LOLI was gonna say that block of styrofoam may be an ESD hazard for that PCB.Aside from that it’s awesome and looks fun.“Buy a switch”, hehehe these kids today…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387464",
"author": "bogdanm",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T16:22:37",
"content": "@xeracy, replace the switch?! That seems a bit far-fetched, doesn’t it?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387471",
"author": "dan fruzzetti",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T16:31:14",
"content": "This is why I bought a plug-in model.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387472",
"author": "HARaaM",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T16:31:21",
"content": "Needs an arduino, Lcd display, and an indestructables link. Otherwise it is fantastic.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387474",
"author": "Bob",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T16:34:47",
"content": "Link:http://phantompinecone.wordpress.com/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387480",
"author": "Mr_Bishop",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T16:41:16",
"content": "@ xeracy, Because taking that course of action is very risky. We are not sure if a new switch would work, so instead backwards engineer the hardware and build something that will!Although I do find the lack of 555 and Arduino’s to be disturbing, how can this lawn mower function as a coffee bean grinder without a brain?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387483",
"author": "dan fruzzetti",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T16:44:59",
"content": "@Mr_Bishop: LOLBut you have to pay compliment to the guy who spent the time on this. Seriously, HP loves over-engineering (look at the silly dual-sided neodymium+and+spring+loaded magnet latch thing for the convertible tablets.. I mean, really; and you can bump the tablet open with almost no force so this expensive over-engineered latch doesn’t even work). Plenty of cause to hack this thing out, plus the looks from passers-by while mowing the front lawn is priceless.“OMG that guy supercharged his lawnmower!”",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387491",
"author": "Nth",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T17:08:17",
"content": "@dan fruzzettiBuying a corded version is irrelevant… both models use the same kind of cheap switch. I’ve had two of these mowers now which were corded and needed switch replacements.The switches don’t last long in these mowers because the inrush current of these motors at stall is very high and also there is no protection on the switches to reduce inductive kick-back.All in all, it’s just a poor design…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387497",
"author": "Bill",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T17:22:25",
"content": "I had a mower where the switch shorted the motor in the off position, so the motor acts as a blade brake. I didn’t keep it long, but I assume the switch wouldn’t last very long as there was a brilliant glow (visible through the housing, in daylight) every time I would turn it off!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387524",
"author": "Adam",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T18:03:42",
"content": "Looks like it should go on the “I fixed it” website, right along side the bottle opener car door handle and duct tape patched leaky roof.He should simply have spec’d out the motor’s amperage at startup and bought a proper switch. It wouldn’t look as stupid, be as likely to turn on unexpectedly to take somebody’s hand off or start a fire, and would have a chance of lasting through the lifespan of the motor.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387525",
"author": "macw",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T18:04:13",
"content": "this also opens the option of adding all kinds of new features — blade braking (maybe with energy recovery?) reverse, a huge capacitor or second battery for a temporary “overboost”, playing music by altering the motor speed….",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387530",
"author": "Fallen",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T18:28:42",
"content": "Hmm not sure what all the hate is about. He more or less did replace the switch, with a solid state one.And unlike just replacing the switch, he actually took the back EMF problem into account.And hell now if he wanted he could add another FET to short the motor to provide dynamic braking if he wanted.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387551",
"author": "FaultyWarrior",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T19:01:58",
"content": "For the guys at HaD, there’s no link to the guy’s original blog post. Here it is for the ones who want a better explanation of the hack.http://phantompinecone.wordpress.com/2011/04/24/frankensteins-lawnmower/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387580",
"author": "crapmower",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T20:16:30",
"content": "ive always wanted to see someone hack one of these mowers – albeit to something cooler with them. i had one and after the first year it ran for 15 minutes. completely outlasted my gas mower 2 fold the year before. it was a 6 month ordeal to get black and decker to fix it. they ended up shipping it back to the wrong address without securing the battery which flopper around smashing the mower to bits. after months of no response and then threating a small claims suit they shipped me a new mower as replacement. i used it twice and bought a gas mower again. now i just have parts laying around waiting for an idea.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387629",
"author": "Ryan",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T22:57:57",
"content": "Why not just replace with a better switch?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387702",
"author": "AndroidCat",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T02:28:45",
"content": "In vehicles, when there’s a heavy current to be switched, a relay (controlled by a switch) is used.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387728",
"author": "Frogz",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T03:41:44",
"content": "…you’re all missing the pointinstead of a fet or a switchhe should have installed a 1000 watt 2 cycle generator!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387830",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T09:04:50",
"content": "Hybrid.. OF COURSE!!!!-and when we laugh at the switch idea, and “better switch” is thrown out there as an alternative, it’s even funnier!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387879",
"author": "blue carbuncle",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T11:56:10",
"content": "Nice hackin job there, Lou. You’ll make sergeant for that :)It would be a nice addition to have a “power boost” button (alternate switch with less resistance/ more juice-regulated of course) to give a little more power for tree stumps and kids toys and gophers in the yard. He he.Sorry about that switch man.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388250",
"author": "John",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T03:09:05",
"content": "Buy a switch? What?, and have to replace it when it fails?HACKADAYRemaking something differently and usually better than it was sold. Not necessarily the easiest wya just a different one.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "2105591",
"author": "Biomed",
"timestamp": "2014-11-08T07:38:21",
"content": "Hey folks. We need a robotic snowblower more than a lawnmower.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,202.920346
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/28/the-concepts-behind-robotic-maze-solving/
|
The Concepts Behind Robotic Maze Solving
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"Robots Hacks"
] |
[
"arduino",
"l293",
"pololu",
"rbbb",
"reflectance"
] |
[Patrick McCabe’s] latest offering is
a well-built maze-solving bot
. This take on the competitive past-time is a little more approachable for your common mortal than
the micro-bot speed maze solving we’ve seen
. Don’t miss seeing the methodical process play out in the clips below the fold.
The playing field that [Patrick’s] robot is navigating is made up of a electrical-tape track on a white background. The two-inch tall double-decker bot is every economical. It uses an RBBB Arduino board to read an optical reflectance sensor array made by Pololu, then it drives a couple of geared motors using an L293D h-bridge breakout board. But we already know that [Patrick’s]
a talented robot builder
, this time around we’re happy to see his in-depth discussion of
how to program a robot to solve a maze
. In it he covers all of the different situations your robot might face and how to deal with them. Once you’ve dug through all of the concepts, dust off that bot you’ve got lying in the corner and start writing some new firmware.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FF6ceCI0kc&w=470]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLHeUEPLSAY&w=470]
| 14
| 14
|
[
{
"comment_id": "387456",
"author": "zerobitjack",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T16:00:51",
"content": "This is really neat. Thanks for sharing how you did this.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387469",
"author": "Esteban",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T16:26:48",
"content": "I should be doing my work – – but this video is neat. Thanks",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387470",
"author": "Squintz",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T16:28:22",
"content": "No Loops?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387501",
"author": "Renee",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T17:29:06",
"content": "Looks like a simple “Turn left” design.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387553",
"author": "Torby",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T19:03:30",
"content": "Um. So once it’s learned a maze, what happens if you put it somewhere else, or in a different maze? Does it recognize this isn’t what it remembers and go back to searching?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387679",
"author": "Hirudinea",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T01:05:01",
"content": "Needs Robot cheese, a small rf transmitter it always goes to through the maze.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387716",
"author": "Raul",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T03:08:06",
"content": "Left first is my fave too.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387749",
"author": "Andrey Mikhalchuk",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T04:20:54",
"content": "A much simpler robot solving the “turn left” mazes:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CVMRT2JyTsJust one MCU :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387774",
"author": "t&p",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T05:48:47",
"content": "queues and backtracking!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387775",
"author": "t&p",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T05:50:29",
"content": "*stacks and backtrackingmy bad",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387922",
"author": "Jason",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T13:35:48",
"content": "Unfortunately, this “left hand on the wall” method of solving a maze will often-times not work, especially in a competitive environment. Maze designers will most certainly not build a puzzle in which this method will work.Imagine a maze with a ring around the outside edge. The method mentioned in his article simply will not work, as the bot would just go ’round and ’round… never making a right turn unless forced to at the edges.A much more common method for maze solving robots is the ‘flood-fill’ or ‘modified flood-fill’ algorithm.Here is a pretty decent write-up of the method:http://www.micromouseinfo.com/introduction/floodfill.html",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388025",
"author": "Patrick McCabe",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T17:27:00",
"content": "@ JasonYou are correct that this left hand on the wall method does not work on mazes with loops. That is something that is pointed out in my article.I have looked a little into flood fill and it appears that the robot has to be programmed to know where the end of the maze is. In these competitions normally the maze is setup in a grid and the end is in the center. If the ending is anywhere in the maze then I believe all bets are off if the robot is not programmed to know where in the grid the maze is. I could be wrong because I have only read a little on it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388041",
"author": "Patrick McCabe",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T18:31:42",
"content": "Sorry I meant:“…bets are off if the robot is not programmed to know where in the grid the *end is.”",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397393",
"author": "DarwinSurvivor",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T05:10:15",
"content": "@McCabe You could also stick to a left-turn system but have the robot log where IT has been in the maze (timing distance between turns should work if the grid is spaced out enough). Then if the robot senses that it is about to repeat a direction, it would check if it had checked all directions at all intersections since it’s first time going that direction at that point and force a new direction if it had exhausted that area. A fair bit more logic involved, but probably still doable on a micro-controller",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,203.044628
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/28/blinkm-smart-garage-door-opener/
|
BlinkM Smart Garage Door Opener
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Arduino Hacks",
"home hacks"
] |
[
"arduino",
"blinkm",
"led",
"Monitoring",
"status"
] |
Calling Canada home, Hackaday reader [TheRafMan] has seen his share of bitterly cold winters. He also knows all too well how hard it is to get his cars started in the morning if somebody happens to leave the garage open. After the door was left open overnight for the second time this last winter, he decided that it was time to add
an indicator inside the house that would alert him when the garage had not been closed
.
Inspired by
our BlinkM Arduino coverage a short while back
, his circuit incorporates a BlinkM as well as several other components he already had on hand. He disassembled the garage door switch situated in the house and fit the BlinkM into the switch box once he had finished programming it. A set of wires was run to the BlinkM, connecting it to both a power supply located in the garage as well as the magnetic switch he mounted on the door.
The end result is a simple and elegant indicator that leaves plenty of room for expansion. In the near future, he plans on adding an additional indicator strobe to let him know when the mail has arrived, not unlike
this system we covered
a few months ago.
Stick around to see a quick video demonstration of his garage door indicator in action.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTBXdCHbMrI&w=470]
| 9
| 9
|
[
{
"comment_id": "387404",
"author": "Will",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T14:16:58",
"content": "Neat idea and all, but with the location of the button within a step’s distance to actually looking out the door to see if the garage door is open or not, I don’t see the huge functionality of it. Great idea, but it’d be better if the garage door wasn’t in plain sight from inside the house though.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387411",
"author": "Spork",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T14:33:33",
"content": "I agree with Will, my garage is on the back side of the house so unless you remember to go look, you can’t see it. (That and I’ve never left mine open)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387446",
"author": "TheRafMan",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T15:27:13",
"content": "@Will & @SporkYes, you would think that being able to see the garage door being so close wouldn’t warrant the indicator, however it has happened; on cold windy days the house door is shut close right away and unless you close the garage door right after that, chances are you will forget once you start undressing your winter gear and bring the groceries in the kitchen… and it is no fun the next morning when the car is very cold and you have to remove wind-blown snow from the garage.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387462",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T16:20:58",
"content": "-or set it up to detect the car in the garage and try to close the door after a certain amount of time with no movement?Very cool idea with lots of room for tinkering.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387475",
"author": "fred",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T16:35:13",
"content": "I don’t understand why people like @Will and @Spork who either have a very small house or never make mistakes (or live with kids who do) need to comment and tell people that the project is stupid.Can you guys just not comment if the project isn’t applicable to you?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387482",
"author": "Frederick",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T16:44:54",
"content": "hello i hope this finds you well, i think another alerter should be made and put in the bedroom or bathroom perhaps that indicates if someone is near the button or has pushed the button within the last couple of minutes, perhaps a dashboard that lists out garage door metrics",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387531",
"author": "fartface",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T18:28:57",
"content": "Neat but does not work with new door openers. New ones have a serial data bus on those two wires and the manufacturer act like you will let the talaban win if you were told how to decode it.Honestly why cant the feds pass a useful law like ” all your communications protocols must be completely documented and in the manual or offered freely to anyone asking.”",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387569",
"author": "Will",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T19:33:43",
"content": "@fredDid I say the project was stupid? No I didn’t think so. Try actually reading the ENTIRE thing before you troll on. I said it’s a great idea, but didn’t seem useful as from where yous tand to press the button you can clearly see if the door is open or not. And Spork said that it would work great for him as his garage is on the back of his house and isn’t easily seen without going outside. So read clearly and think and you may make some sense next time.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388124",
"author": "Fredrick",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T21:38:18",
"content": "Depending upon the climate you live in this is a great idea. In the upper midwest of the U.S. it gets plenty cold and windy and most operator buttons for the overhead door are on the garage side of the wall. I don’t like opening the door between the house and garage in my house to see if the overhead door is closed, so in my situation, the concept is great and sounds like an inexpensive fix to a very common problem.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,202.699746
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/28/ide-bus-sniffing-and-hard-drive-password-recovery/
|
IDE Bus Sniffing And Hard Drive Password Recovery
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"computer hacks",
"Security Hacks"
] |
[
"bus",
"hard drive",
"ide",
"openbench",
"password",
"recovery",
"sniffing"
] |
shackspace member [@dop3j0e]
found himself in a real bind when trying to recover some data after his ThinkPad’s fingerprint scanner died
. You see, he stored his hard drive password in the scanner, and over time completely forgot what it was. Once the scanner stopped working, he had no way to get at his data.
He brainstormed, trying to figure out the best way to recover his data. He considered reverse engineering the BIOS, which was an interesting exercise, but it did not yield any password data. He also thought about swapping the hard drive’s logic board with that of a similar drive, but it turns out that the password is stored on the platters, not the PCB.
With his options quickly running out, he turned to
a piece of open-source hardware we’ve covered here in the past
, the OpenBench Logic Sniffer. The IDE bus contains 16 data pins, and lucky for [@dop3j0e] the OpenBench has 16 5v pins as well – a perfect match. He wired the sniffer up to the laptop and booted the computer, watching SUMP for the unlock command to be issued. Sure enough he captured the password with ease, after which he unlocked and permanently removed it using hdparm.
Be sure to check out
[@dop3j0e’s] presentation on the subject
if you are interested in learning more about how the recovery was done.
| 34
| 29
|
[
{
"comment_id": "387363",
"author": "Dean",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T13:18:43",
"content": "So…why not just plug the hard drive into another machine, dump data…and then format the disk. I’m all for creative solutions to inane problems, but this is a bit overboard, unless I’m missing something. A neat hack nonetheless…but why?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "475681",
"author": "facecardz",
"timestamp": "2011-10-08T20:17:37",
"content": "Because the password is stored on the drive. Hard-drives sometimes have their own password mechanism, which operates independently of the computer they are plugged into. My question is why didn’t he reverse engineer the scanner for the password?",
"parent_id": "387363",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "567462",
"author": "Mikey",
"timestamp": "2012-01-26T00:10:19",
"content": "Because they were LOCKED. Most BIOSes won’t even exit the POST screen if the HDD is locked.A MUCH easier way to get around this is to boot up a machine that unlocks the hard drive (which his clearly did), and then unplug it from that machine (not the power just the IDE cable) and plug it into another machine (also already running).You’re not really supposed to do that, but if you’re careful it works pretty well. The original XBox can be soft-modded like this (if you can’t find the right version of Mech-Warrior. ;D)",
"parent_id": "387363",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "387365",
"author": "Rob",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T13:26:03",
"content": "wait, was the password in the scanner? or on the drive?i’m sure you could find a new scanner part for your thinkpad… but you get an A for effort buddy!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387374",
"author": "ColinB",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T13:33:58",
"content": "I am confused how he could be sniffing the password on the bus if indeed the fingerprint scanner was broken. Who is transmitting the password on the IDE bus? Does BIOS actually reads the password from the drive, then uses that password to unlock the drive?! That is hardly a secure system.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "567466",
"author": "Mikey",
"timestamp": "2012-01-26T00:15:19",
"content": "No, the password is stored in two places in order to work, the BIOS or some other hardware on the laptop must have the password, and the harddrive itself must also know the password.If I sent an unlock command to the harddrive, and it didn’t know the password (or have some other way to verify the password), it wouldn’t know if I got it right or not — so how would it know to unlock itself? — This is why he tried changing the board on the drive — if the password/drive lockage was stored on the hdd’s board, simply swapping it out would be enough — which he did — and which was not enough — so the data telling the controller that the hard drive is locked (and any corresponding verification data) was being stored on the disk platters themselves.",
"parent_id": "387374",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "387375",
"author": "DanAdamKOF",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T13:34:15",
"content": "Dean, the drive won’t allow any data to be read from it until it receives an unlock command with the correct password.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387384",
"author": "Panikos",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T13:46:31",
"content": "Am I mistaken to assume that the information (fingerprint and password) is stored in the bios or similar? So replacing the scanner would have also been enough?Very interesting read. Thanks for the presentation @dop3j0e",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387385",
"author": "Lukas",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T13:46:42",
"content": "ColinB, if you read the linked blogpost at shackspace.de you see that this is sort of a misunderstanding. In the post it says “How do you access the disk if your fingerprint scanner dies?” which would actually be a problem when not knowing the HDD password anymore.hackaday seems to have misread this, the fingerprint scanner was obviously still working and used to sniff the password.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387386",
"author": "Lukas",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T13:48:55",
"content": "Panikos, the password is stored on the HDD.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387392",
"author": "VV",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T13:56:38",
"content": "I’m guessing he wanted to recover the password while the fingerprint scanner still worked. Because he had forgotten the password, and this would be fatal should his fingerprint scanner break.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387395",
"author": "Mike Nathan",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T14:01:44",
"content": "To answer some of the questions that have been asked:The fingerprint readers on Lenovo laptops store your password locally in the reader itself. The passwords are encrypted, and when the proper fingerprint is read, it can submit the appropriate password to whichever component is asking for it.BIOS and HDD passwords can be stored this way, as can Windows passwords.When the reader dies, your passwords go along with it. Since the hard drive was password protected, the only way to get at the data (within reason) is sniffing the bus for the password like @dop3j0e did. Swapping it into another computer unfortunately won’t do a thing – that’s how ATA master passwords work.It’s the same principle behind the HDD locking mechanisms in the original Xbox. You either needed a mod chip or softmod to extract the password from the drive. Simply connecting your drive to a PC or another Xbox would do nothing.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "387454",
"author": "Chris H",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T15:52:36",
"content": "The password obviously was being sent to the HDD as he was able to sniff it. Using your original Xbox analogy, it would seem that once the drive receives that info the PATA cable could be swapped to another machine without removing power from the drive. A common ground between the two machines is also needed. This is a working method for exploiting the original XBox HDD locking as well",
"parent_id": "387395",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "387400",
"author": "Nathan",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T14:09:19",
"content": "This is a thinkly veiled advertisement (with referral link) for the OpenBench device. Faced with the same problem, I would have pulled the data off the drive while the fingerprint scanner still worked and then replaced the drive. Unless you are a broke college student it or someone looking for a challege, it is not worth the time to sniff a password to a $50 HD.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "2454026",
"author": "Byron",
"timestamp": "2015-02-26T03:36:52",
"content": "So… Then what if you HAD to have the DATA off the original HDD? Sure you can go and buy a new HDD (and OS) install the drive and OS into the machine, but then what???",
"parent_id": "387400",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "387403",
"author": "dop3j0e",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T14:14:30",
"content": "@ColinB @VV — The article is a little misleading there; my FP reader never broke. Had it been broken, I would have had no way of recovering my password.@Mike Nathan — Right you are, thanks for the detailed explanation.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387407",
"author": "DocDawning",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T14:29:22",
"content": "How very extremely awesome! I <3 it!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387408",
"author": "Elias",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T14:32:12",
"content": "What am I missing here? If the reader died what sent the correct password to the drive for it to be sniffed?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387412",
"author": "Mike Nathan",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T14:34:34",
"content": "@Elias,Ah, I obviously misread. He did indeed forget the password (and thus could not change it), but he wanted to recover it before the reader died. That’s what I get for writing articles late at night.So yes, the reader was working, he swiped his finger and sniffed the bus to recover it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387413",
"author": "Elias",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T14:38:18",
"content": "@Mike,Thanks, I realised that also when I read the article properly so was just about to update here :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387435",
"author": "zool",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T15:01:40",
"content": "bus sniffing doesn’t sound fun",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387447",
"author": "blodgar",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T15:27:24",
"content": "“remember my password” = “forget my password”, IMO…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387450",
"author": "Chris",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T15:38:13",
"content": "If the thumb scanner submits passwords to components that arn’t aware it’s coming from a scanner why can’t you authorize a password change with a thumb scan???",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387488",
"author": "veneficus",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T17:00:49",
"content": "I think it is possible to get the password from the HDD. Since the HDD stores the PWD on the platter itself, the controller needs to be able to read the PWD from the platter to compare with the PWD provided through the ATA bus. So, in theory, if you sniff the bytes read by the controller from the platter during the UNLOCK command one should be able to see what the password is. However, if the controller stores the data encrypted on the platter, it becomes very complex.What do you guys think?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387505",
"author": "Mike Nathan",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T17:46:02",
"content": "@Chris H, you are totally right. I found an original Xbox while dumpster diving with a busted DVD drive. I pulled it apart and used the cable swapping method you mention in order to circumvent the HDD lock, which enabled me to softmod it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387526",
"author": "darksim905",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T18:09:18",
"content": "Was that entire presentation made with Prezi? That is neat, will have to look into that. :o",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387563",
"author": "Dax",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T19:23:20",
"content": "@veneficusMore likely the drive platters only store a hash of the password. That way, even if you have physical access to the data, you can’t recover the password.Hashes work by exploiting mathematical formulas that are incredibly easy to calculate one way, but impossible to do it the other way around, so you may have a function “hash(password)” that returns a hash string, but making a function “password(hash)” would be impossible.All you could do is brute force it by generating billions and billions of passwords and calculating their hashes to see if one of them matches, but that can be thwarted by employing a secret “salt” that is added on by the hardware, which changes the password and the resulting hash slightly.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387568",
"author": "Jan",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T19:31:25",
"content": "That’s what backups were invented for…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387570",
"author": "veneficus",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T19:34:40",
"content": "@Dax: Hashes doesn’t make me worry that much as long as they use a standard hashing algorithm. There are pre-calculated hash databases around called Rainbow Tables. It is very easy to reverse the password if it is found in the rainbow table, granted that it is not salted.I am more curious to learn how different manufacturers store the PWD on the platter. Do they store the HASH? is it clear text? Can someone reverse engineer the firmware on the controller? Is it possible to access to the controller’s memory? What if someone flashes the firmware with one that doesn’t care about the set PWD?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387588",
"author": "Elias",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T20:31:24",
"content": "@veneficus: Rainbow tables only have the hashes that were generated, thus usually mostly dictionary based and short pw’s.Having every possible combination with standard chars and numbers, upper and lower case, spaces and no spaces etc. takes immense amount of disc space when hashed with every possible hashing algorithm.That is why with proper passwords rainbow tables are not very useful.Most people would only have a fraction of the HDD space required to store the table so some massive cloud service would be required.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387691",
"author": "jeditalian",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T01:49:01",
"content": "4c7uA1 h4x0rz, w00t!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387692",
"author": "jeditalian",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T01:49:44",
"content": "my 1337 is rusty",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387824",
"author": "Max",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T08:24:38",
"content": "@veneficus: I am definitely no expert, but my understanding is that the whole point of the concept of “salting” the password (even with a perfectly public “salt” – but not a constant one, ie. no “rand()=4”) is to render rainbow tables useless.As long as there’s no salt being used, a specific password will always have the same specific hash, so it makes sense to spend horrible amounts of time calculating these huge collections of hashes of all possible passwords called rainbow tables, because they will work again and again in different systems you are trying to crack (as long as the used hash algo is the same, which it tends to be). You just look up the hash you have, and it gives you the password.However, if you “salt” your password before hashing it by altering it somehow with an (even public – it may well be stored in plain view alongside the hash value) salt, now you’d have to have a separate set of rainbow tables (already huge) for EVERY SINGLE VALUE your salt can take. That would mean not 1, but 256 sets of rainbow tables for even a 8-bit salt. Which is just unfeasible in practice. And actual salts are quite longer these days, so the number would be astronomical.An added advantage is that you can’t tell if the same password is used in different places simply by comparing hashes (as long as the salts used were different).",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397404",
"author": "DarwinSurvivor",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T06:34:43",
"content": "@Max adding hash doesn’t make rainbow tables useless, it just forces you to use a larger rainbow table.Ex:PAWS: secretSALT: saltywhat you look for in the rainbow table: “saltysecret” or “secretsalty”.Once you find the “long” password, it should be trivial to figure out which part is the password and which part if the salt.Now granted, there are some hash’s that are designed to take a salt, but many of them simply concatenate them salt and password, then perform the hash.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,202.85929
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/28/hacker-typer-lets-you-turn-jibberish-into-useless-code/
|
Hacker Typer Lets You Turn Jibberish Into Useless Code
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"Misc Hacks"
] |
[
"hacker",
"hollywood",
"movies"
] |
We generated the screen full of code seen above literally by bashing a hand on the keyboard repeatedly like a monkey. You know, just like how hackers are portrayed in the movies?
Hacker Typer makes you look like you know what you’re doing
even though you’re too lazy to do something real. It’s a pointless website that’s none-the-less worth a few moments of your time just for the sake of amusement. You’ll be greeted with a set of options. The first lets you decide what pre-determined text will appear as you type. The rest are for page title, foreground and background colors, and number of characters that will appear with each keystroke.
The default features start off with three characters generated for each keystroke, another annoying staple of Hollywood film making. Oh well, even movies that try really hard to get things right end up getting under the skin of someone. Case in point,
the Linux shell readout from Tron Legacy
.
[via
The Presurfer
]
| 35
| 28
|
[
{
"comment_id": "387322",
"author": "xMob",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T12:15:14",
"content": "All it needs to complete it is the bleep boop beep sound affects. ;o)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "662773",
"author": "Matt",
"timestamp": "2012-05-29T15:33:08",
"content": "Just listen to the mission impossible theme on another tab!",
"parent_id": "387322",
"depth": 2,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "3549967",
"author": "Glauco G.",
"timestamp": "2017-05-02T15:34:47",
"content": "I just did that hahaha",
"parent_id": "662773",
"depth": 3,
"replies": []
}
]
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "387329",
"author": "HackerK",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T12:25:58",
"content": "Nice.. ;)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "984820",
"author": "darren",
"timestamp": "2013-03-26T18:55:00",
"content": "what is nice and can you do it for real……….!!!!!!",
"parent_id": "387329",
"depth": 2,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "6728829",
"author": "Aditya",
"timestamp": "2024-02-08T12:24:31",
"content": "Make money",
"parent_id": "984820",
"depth": 3,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "3362637",
"author": "ahmed",
"timestamp": "2017-01-13T01:40:48",
"content": "asefv djfjdxdd, dkjdvhrj",
"parent_id": "387329",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "387345",
"author": "g-sichd",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T12:38:36",
"content": "very nice. could do that in fullscreen mode all day an feel important.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "6719198",
"author": "nn",
"timestamp": "2024-01-15T10:09:55",
"content": "https://hackertyper.nlcan do fullscreen",
"parent_id": "387345",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "387353",
"author": "Doctroid",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T13:00:39",
"content": "Bug: It doesn’t strip out comments. What hacker would type in comments?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387355",
"author": "voelker",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T13:02:24",
"content": "could take code from a randomly chosen linux kernel source file",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387364",
"author": "sc0rch3d",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T13:20:10",
"content": "they weren’t kidding about spending a few moments….i was grinning from ear to ear, but that faded just as quickly.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387377",
"author": "mad_max",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T13:39:11",
"content": "This is GREAT.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387382",
"author": "Mike",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T13:44:48",
"content": "Fun until you hit the first comment. I have never ever seen a hollywood hacker put comments in their code.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387402",
"author": "Booker T. Worthington",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T14:13:41",
"content": "Awesome. This made my day.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387455",
"author": "supershwa",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T15:54:01",
"content": "Too much hammering. Got an error:DB Error, overload!!!! Crap, system crashed :/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387538",
"author": "fede.tft",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T18:47:50",
"content": "Hope you aren’t serious when talking about not commenting code. Anyone who has tried to read its *own* code a couple of years later knows what I mean.Also, comments can be funhttp://stackoverflow.com/questions/184618/what-is-the-best-comment-in-source-code-you-have-ever-encountered",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387555",
"author": "Erik Johnson",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T19:08:00",
"content": "This brings back memories, I remember doing the same thing on the Apple II then QBasic again for DOS when I was learning BASIC",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387622",
"author": "crashsuit",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T22:35:48",
"content": "Wonder how long ’til we see this exact website used on CSI or Criminal Minds.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387669",
"author": "ren_zokukne01",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T00:44:50",
"content": "“perl, python, java 4th gen languages.. yey!! great for embedded!!”",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387678",
"author": "Hirudinea",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T01:00:17",
"content": "Makes me feel like a real hackerer!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387726",
"author": "lamer",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T03:31:56",
"content": "lame…just substitutes “anykey” with a bit of a predefined code…/Lamer",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387727",
"author": "ren_zokukne01",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T03:34:06",
"content": "no, i’m not confusing 3rd generation languages, with 4th gen like SQL",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387798",
"author": "earl",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T07:21:22",
"content": "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-HvY8stFxk&feature=player_embedded",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389093",
"author": "Mathew Farrell",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T06:05:07",
"content": "So dumb question but is there anyway to save these web pages so they can be ran offline where internet will probably not be available? Thank you",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "524166",
"author": "pyromaniac77",
"timestamp": "2011-12-02T01:32:34",
"content": "That “Useless Code” of yours is the Linux Kernel…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "712793",
"author": "Axad Saeed",
"timestamp": "2012-07-25T15:22:47",
"content": "Hey i found a thing in it. After typing anytime press CTRL 3 times and it will prompt ACCESS DENIED. Press ESC to resume. After typing some more press ALT. It will prompt ACCESS GRANTED. Cool eh?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "946193",
"author": "Gideon",
"timestamp": "2013-01-24T09:25:46",
"content": "okay i now have an idea of doing that",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "964312",
"author": "Wamamamamamama",
"timestamp": "2013-02-23T00:16:28",
"content": "Do get access granted you can type anything as long as you don’t repeat anything",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1025016",
"author": "Lexii",
"timestamp": "2013-07-10T10:53:38",
"content": "all i did was hit space and millions of boxes appered",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1186224",
"author": "SoldRip",
"timestamp": "2014-02-07T23:46:10",
"content": "@LexiiStop using Lexotanils :]",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1971200",
"author": "CodeCube",
"timestamp": "2014-10-08T22:45:10",
"content": "it’s not useless, it’s the linux kernel:http://www.quora.com/Hackers/Has-anyone-ever-tried-to-compile-the-hackertyper-code",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "4353643",
"author": "Hacker Typer",
"timestamp": "2018-02-12T00:43:30",
"content": "The newest version of Hacker Typer fake hacking simulator athttps://hackertyper.io",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "8121971",
"author": "casperrues",
"timestamp": "2025-04-25T16:29:41",
"content": "What about using the new one which having the latest features like auto typing and scroll withhttps://whitescreentest.net/hacker-typer/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "8122016",
"author": "Elliot Williams",
"timestamp": "2025-04-25T18:58:23",
"content": "Link is bad? Try again?",
"parent_id": "8121971",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
}
] | 1,760,377,202.988524
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/28/hack-a-day-links-april-27-2011/
|
Hack A Day Links: April 27, 2011
|
Kevin Dady
|
[
"Hackaday links"
] |
[
"links"
] |
Remaking the first video game
At the Revision 2011 demo compo, a museum project called [
MEGA
] won first place in the “Wild” category with their zero bit recreation of “tennis for 2”. Entirely made of analog electronics, the retro game completes its presentation on a round o-scope screen. You can see a video of it after the break.
Mint-tin bicycle computer
[Alexdlp’s] newest instructable is a attractive and compact
bicycle computer
running off of an Arduino, and sports the usual bike features. It does not stop there, adding in a 16×2 LCD gives more room for data in both numeric form and bar graph form, and adding in a pair of radio modems allows that data to be fed back home where it can be logged and compared, perfect for the more serious biker.
8085 Reference Card
If you enjoy retro computers, or would like to make your own, you will find this
Intel 8085 reference card
is a real treat. Based on a original reference card, it has been expanded to give more detail for additional interrupts, electrical reference, T-State timing, and undocumented instructions.
Connect a SNES controller to your Android phone
[Bruno] wanted to be able to use a
real SNES controller with the emulator on his HTC Android phone
, packing in an Arduino, 6 AA batteries, and a breadboard and mission accomplished! Hardly as portable as the phone, but we commend the “get it done” sprit. Join us after the break for a quick video.
Remaking the first video game
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K11UE_SLoRI&w=450]
Connect a SNES controller to your Android phone
[vimeo
http://vimeo.com/22722692
w=450]
| 6
| 6
|
[
{
"comment_id": "387318",
"author": "RBRat3",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T11:53:39",
"content": "Its all fun and games till the relays burn out.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387358",
"author": "Slanderer",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T13:08:35",
"content": "Tennis for two is a bit of work. Originally running off of high voltage DC and tube op amps. This only complicates things because the op amps are single ended—no non-inverting inputs, which changes what circuit topologies are used (because you don’t have many op amps to waste, either). Another issue is that the original schematics, which were recently made available by Brookhaven National Lab, are full of errors. So that’s fun, too.Other than the op amps, relays, and capacitors, the original had a handful of transistors. These may have been pricier, and were used to create the timing and display switching section (ie, it had to switch the output to the scope between drawing the net, drawing the floor, and drawing the ball). The first two were as simple as pairs of voltage-divided AC voltage and divided DC voltage and most of the circuit was for the third.But this recreation looks pretty good!The net bounce seems somewhat unreliable, but otherwise this is pretty awesome! When I worked on my own recreation, Peter Takacs from BNL was great in helping to point out a few of the errors/typos in the circuit (and to identify a circuit simple I’d never seen before–a floating variable dc supply! Looked like a two cell battery with an arrow pointing at it)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387763",
"author": "fileoffset",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T05:01:41",
"content": "If anyone makes a portable bluetooth SNES controller for Android phones, I would buy it!I’m seriously contemplating duplicating this fantastic idea, with an effort to make the controller fully portable, with no dongles or electronics sticking out.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388017",
"author": "Bruno Soares",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T16:55:37",
"content": "It’s simple to let the portable control!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389103",
"author": "Aaron",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T06:31:15",
"content": "Here’s your bluetooth solution:http://pocketnow.com/tweaks-hacks/control-your-android-with-your-wii-controllerplug in the classic controller to the wii-mote.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "446117",
"author": "pocket bikes manual",
"timestamp": "2011-09-02T06:39:04",
"content": "It does not stop there, adding in a 16×2 LCD gives more room for electrical reference, T-State timing, and undocumented instructions.http://pocketnow.com/tweaks-hacks/control-your-android-with-your-wii-controller",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,203.206808
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/27/wonderhowto-inteview-of-matthias-wandel/
|
WonderHowTo Inteview Of [Matthias Wandel]
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"Roundup"
] |
[
"matthias wandel"
] |
If you’re an avid Hackaday reader chances are that you immediately recognized [Matthias Wandel’s] name. He’s been featured many many times to go along with his many many talents. Most notably, his ability to do some amazing things with wood. But really, it’s the idea that counts, and he seems to have a duffle bag full of them. [Rachel adn Justin] over at WonderHowTo recently published
a full interview with Mattias
. In it he shares his thoughts on where some of these ideas come from, how he approaches his projects, and even shares some advice for those just getting started.
This is usually the time where we make a witty remark and try to work in links to feature articles from the past. If we were limited to just one it would be pretty tough (although there’s a special place in our hearts for
the wasp sucker
). Luckily we’re not limited, so here’s a list of some of [Matthias’] projects which Hackaday covered previously:
The Wasp Sucker
DIY disc duplicator
Ball bearing playground
How to build a bandsaw
LEGO domino placer
Wooden keyboard case
One-pin dot-matrix printer
Wooden binary adder
| 2
| 2
|
[
{
"comment_id": "387127",
"author": "jwrm22",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T00:01:17",
"content": "Its great to see this on hackaday. I’ve been following woodgears.ca already for a couple years. Matthias Wandel makes great wood-machines I specially like the marble machines like the binary adding machine.JWRM22",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387196",
"author": "Paul",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T02:55:17",
"content": "I too have been following his videos and discovered woodgears.ca awhile back.very good approach to design, as an engineering student I consistently notice that there is certainly alot of validity to his methods",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,203.249219
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/27/playstation-network-breached-no-end-to-downtime-in-sight/
|
Playstation Network Breached, No End To Downtime In Sight
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"News"
] |
[
"breach",
"playstation",
"ps3",
"psn",
"security"
] |
If you are not a gamer, or simply a casual player, you may not have heard about
the recent breach of Sony’s Playstation Network
. In short, the network was infiltrated on April 17th, and the service was completely shut down on the 19th as a precautionary measure. Now, more than a week later services have yet to be restored, but
Sony is finally starting to talk a bit more about what happened
.
At this point, nobody knows the total extent of the data stolen, but stories are emerging that indicate just about everything that could be accessed was accessed. Sony admits that information such as names, addresses, passwords, and security questions have all been accessed by an unauthorized third party. They have also not completely ruled out the possibility that credit card data has been stolen as well.
It seems the situation has turned from a mere inconvenience to PSN users into a full-blown security and PR nightmare. After a breach like this with so many questions left unanswered, and the gaming network rendered completely useless, we have to ask:
When everything is “fixed” and back to normal, what could Sony possibly do to regain your trust?
| 103
| 50
|
[
{
"comment_id": "387056",
"author": "Kristjan",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T22:19:13",
"content": "As history (rootkit, anyone?) has shown, they don’t really have to do anything for the masses to keep buying their stuff.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387057",
"author": "Paul",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T22:21:47",
"content": "other os?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387058",
"author": "macw",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T22:22:41",
"content": "Ars Technica just posted a story saying that yes, all the credit card data has also been compromised (eg. people are reporting fraudulent charges on preloaded credit cards that they only ever used for PSN purchases). So if you have a PSN account, keep a close eye on your credit cards or just cancel them outright.This is definitely one of the more appalling security breaches in the last couple of years. At least when Gawker etc. got hacked they didn’t have stored credit card information…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387059",
"author": "abobymouse",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T22:22:42",
"content": "fuck sony (and their endless shitty formats and weird DRM) – I’m never buying sony again.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387060",
"author": "Haku",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T22:24:03",
"content": "I think it has to be said that if the target of the hack was to steal credit card details then it most likely won’t be the hackers who just wanted to gain access to the PS3 to run their own software, so PS3 gamers shouldn’t start throwing accusations at the homebrew / piracy crowd for this outage.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387063",
"author": "aeroslin",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T22:27:38",
"content": "I agree with abobymouse – screw Sony. I dumped them a couple years back and refuse to give them a single cent more.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387064",
"author": "macw",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T22:27:45",
"content": "and incidentally, I don’t think Sony could do anything to regain my trust except maybe divesting themselves of their entire record/film division and going back to just manufacturing electronics. Really, every stupid thing Sony’s done in the last decade or two can be traced to some kind of BS from the rights-management divisions. I guarantee you their hardware engineers aren’t sitting around thinking “let’s invent a new audio compression format that isn’t compatible with anything” or “let’s make this music CD put a rootkit on your computer.”",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387067",
"author": "Church",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T22:34:11",
"content": "I saw that thread on 4chan.I figured nothing would come of it and moved on.Guess not.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387078",
"author": "Jon",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T22:45:51",
"content": "I’ve never been a sony fan… I think they started their slide with the failure of the minidisc… that was the point where the lawyers and executives stopped thinking what was best for the consumer, and just assumed the problem was with the consumer when they didn’t buy sony products.I know lots of people that are only really supporting sony because of their game systems, curious to see how badly this snafu will screw them over.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387083",
"author": "jim",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T22:59:24",
"content": "This just makes me hate blackhats.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387086",
"author": "Grayda",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T23:01:07",
"content": "@macw: I’m sure they’re doing both. Isn’t there talk of the “new” Playstation using some kind of proprietary format?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387087",
"author": "Tom",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T23:01:50",
"content": "bring back OTHEROS option !!!!! It all starts with it !!!!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387088",
"author": "jim",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T23:02:08",
"content": "It’ll be limited to online downl…oh wait.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387092",
"author": "Jack",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T23:07:07",
"content": "Sony will never have my trust, nor will any company. Their goal is profit. And if it means you can’t do what you want with the stuff you buy from them, then they will do that. If this was a protest and not just some guy stealing shit, I’m all for it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387096",
"author": "Jay",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T23:12:05",
"content": "They could give away free tacos… worked for taco bell. :D mmmmmm, tacos.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387100",
"author": "TheCitySpiders",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T23:19:39",
"content": "Sony had it coming …the crappy consoles…the DRM every where and the poor support for the alternate OS on the consoles added up to a lot of mistrust plus this real gem …the break in of their network’s servers ..and.. not telling any one till it is literally too late to do any thing meaningful about it. cannot blame this on the reverse engineers legal or not …I stopped using Sony products ages ago for obvious hacker unfriendly reasons hardware and software alike.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387102",
"author": "jody",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T23:23:14",
"content": "what the heck is all the crying about. its part of life on the net. everyone, everyone can be hacked. don’t like it keep your info off line plain and simple.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387104",
"author": "fred",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T23:26:56",
"content": "“what could Sony possibly do to regain your trust?”. Nothing. The enormity of this incident only caps off a downward spiral of inanity that Sony has been pursuing. Unfortunately, in the long term, this won’t hurt them. They’ll attempt some sort of spin, and by next year, people will forget. Such is the life of the sheeple.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387107",
"author": "Mr.Non-Descript",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T23:30:50",
"content": "While I generally don’t have an issue with a company making money, Sony’s business practices are simply narrow-minded and deplorable. I stopped buying their products as soon as it was reviled that they were installing rootkits as part of their DRM. You really have to question a company when their President actually says to a reporter, “Most people, I think, don’t even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?”I understand wanting to protect their assets (and profits) from piracy but when you instantly assume your customers are thieves, that’s just going to take you down the wrong path. The worst thing about them getting compromised is how it’s going to affect the individuals who (used to) subscribe to their service — I feel sorry for them.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387109",
"author": "cantido",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T23:36:18",
"content": "@TheCitySpiders>> the crappy consoles…Yet they have sold millions and millions of units..>>the DRM every whereWho doesn’t have DRM everywhere these days? Lets not single Sony out here for something literally everyone is doing.>>and the poor support for the alternate OSHere we go, you’re trying to make out that removing Other OS caused this opposed to someone looking to make profit by stealing CC details.. oh dear oh dear.>>on the consoles added up to a lot>>of mistrust plus this real gemReally? You don’t think this is somehow to do with the fact that if you have lots of CC numbers and personal details to go with them you can make lots of money? You think this all boils down to the removal of a feature less than 0.1% of their customers used?>>not telling any one till it is>>literally too lateHow do they tell you there has been a break in and the extent of said break in before they A: know there has been a break in B: know what the extent of said break in was. I’m sure you know the future and can release press released before the events have actually happened but I’m afraid people like yourself are very rare.>>to do any thing meaningful about it.What could you do? By the time Sony know of the issue it was already too late for you to do anything.>>cannot blame this on the reverse engineersThey don’t even come into this unless they were involved in the break in.>>I stopped using Sony products ages>>ago for obvious hacker unfriendly>>reasons hardware and software alike.GOOD JOB OLD BOY! You want a medal for that?Please tell all of us the brand of consumer goods you buy.. you know they company that has no problem with you breaking their security systems (valid or not), redistributing their IP etc..",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387112",
"author": "Cynyr",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T23:37:47",
"content": "To regain my trust? well seeing as all that my PSN account had was the ability to play netflix movies on my PS3, it shouldn’t take much.As for not buying Sony again, I’d like to say I bought mine to play gran-turismo 5. At the time I bought it, it was expected to be a PS3 only title. In my defense, the only other option would be the Xbox360, made by Microsoft. They have my trust even less than Sony.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387113",
"author": "Spork",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T23:39:48",
"content": "I agree with fred, as much as I’d like to see Sony crash and burn, I don’t think this will do it. They’ll say it was someone who worked for them and already had *some sort* of access to their networks, then quit on bad terms and hacked them.I am a huge fan of the person who did this, because they pointed out that while Sony can update their consoles and be greedy, they can’t protect themselves from everyone.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387117",
"author": "nes",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T23:43:53",
"content": "@macw: au contraire. I have a friend who used to work in R&D at Sony and that really is what they did all day. They genuinely believe that ATRAC is superior to everything else out there. You have to concede their MP3 players do actually sound much better than anything i-prefixed.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387118",
"author": "Spork",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T23:45:22",
"content": "@cantidoOh yeah, tough guy?>>Who doesn’t have DRM everywhere these days? Lets not single Sony out here for something literally everyone is doing.Do you not recall how Sony’s DRM rootkits your Windows box and lets anyone (blackhats) take advantage of that newly created vulnerability? Also, they didn’t provide a way to remove it AND denied that it existed until they were sued over it.>>What could you do? By the time Sony know of the issue it was already too late for you to do anything.Cancel credit cards before they get used. Now with reports of charges, people already have to deal with their CC companies. Sony could have said from the beginning “CANCEL YOUR CARDS!”.. instead they chose to hide it.Now come on, what did Sony do for you that makes you such a loyal fanboy?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387119",
"author": "cantido",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T23:45:54",
"content": "@Mr.Non-Descript>they were installing rootkits>as part of their DRM.The company that distributed the rootkits being Sony BGM not Sony Computer Entertainment. Two different companies. If you want to blame related companies (same money involved) for another companies wrong doing.. you basically need to avoid Japanese companies as the same money is involved in like 99.9% of all the big companies.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387123",
"author": "Spork",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T23:56:22",
"content": "@cantido“Sony BMG Music Entertainment is a recorded music company, which was a 50–50 joint venture between the Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann AG”From wikipedia.Being that Bertelsmann AG is a music company, I’d be willing to bet that Sony was employed to create the DRM. Sony manufactures CD media and is a computer company, which would handle that end of business in such a deal, no reason for the music company to do it. They simply licensed the titles to Sony BMG.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387124",
"author": "FACE",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T23:57:53",
"content": "This pastebin might be of interest to some of you.http://pastebin.com/m0ZxsjAbAfter reading through the conversations and reading about the utter lack of security taken on Sony’s part, I think it is hard to blame the blackhats for jumping on such an easy, tastey, target…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387128",
"author": "cantido",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T00:01:39",
"content": "@Spork>>Oh yeah, tough guy?Hahah.>>Do you not recall how Sony’s DRM rootkitsSony BGM .. lets get this right.>>your Windows boxI don’t run windows and never have..>>that newly created vulnerability?Ok, so you hate Sony BGM.. but why do you use software with known exploits that the vendor refuses to fix or takes months to do so?Lets turn this the other way around.. why does Microsoft not fix exploits that allow malware in and to remain hidden?>>they didn’t provide a way to remove it*they* being Sony BGM.>>Cancel credit cards before they get used.Ok, so how do I tell you credit card data has been stolen before I know its been stolen?>>Now with reports of charges, people>>already have to deal with their CC companies.Which is all insured, if any charges have happened people will get their money back. I have had money disappear from my credit and debit cards and have gotten it back. Its annoying but they only people that will end up out of pocket with this are SCE.>>Sony could have said from the beginning>>“CANCEL YOUR CARDS!”And then if it turned out no data was stolen you would be here complaining that you cancelled your card for no reason.>>SonyWell, for a start Sony is a massive umbrella over a ton of different companies>>fanboy?You do make me laugh.. I can see you thought process; I don’t agree with you thus you need some way of invalidating what I have written, you can’t think of anything to actually counter what I have written so you need something else.. so you decide that if you can label me as a shill that’ll make what I have written invalid.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387131",
"author": "Eric",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T00:06:44",
"content": "Ok, here is my crackpot conspiracy theory. Sony “hacked” their own network via some deniable 3rd party to help their case for removing the Other OS option and pissing off white hats everywhere.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387133",
"author": "defect",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T00:09:27",
"content": "They can’t regain what they never had. However, going open source and inviting hackers in might be a good start.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387135",
"author": "Spork",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T00:10:31",
"content": "@cantidoIf you had bothered to read my other posts instead of just babbling about Sony vs Sony BMG, you’d realize why my first post is credible.Also, when (Visa, Mastercard, Amex) cancel a stolen card, they can give you the same card number with a new expiry and new CVV2 code, so it’s really not too inconvenient for the consumer. I’d rather have a new CVV2 and expiry to memorize than have to fight my card company for my money back.Lastly can I show you the problem with how you reply to posts?>>Lets turn this the other way around..Okay, lets do so.>>label me as a shill that’ll make what I have written invalid.Interesting. I see your point and agree with it, that will make what you have written invalid.See what I did there? Taking things out of context and replying so you have no way to make a retort.I’m not picking on you because we disagree, I am doing it because you disagree in a negative way and it is an annoyance to those who want to have a civilized conversation.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387136",
"author": "Spork",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T00:11:30",
"content": "@EricLove the theory. Can we throw greed in there? They stole money from the customer credit cards as well, or would that be taking it too far?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387137",
"author": "FACE",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T00:12:07",
"content": "Well since links in comments require moderator approval, figured I try to post this in plain text. There is a pastebin of the conversation between some of the people behind this.pastebin [dot] com [slash] m0ZxsjAbSony really dropped the ball on security, you can’t blame hackers for taking advantage of such an easy target.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387143",
"author": "lordenglish",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T00:21:11",
"content": "@candito>>>>and the poor support for the alternate OS>>Here we go, you’re trying to make out that >>removing Other OS caused this opposed to someone >>looking to make profit by stealing CC details.. >>oh dear oh dear.If you actually take the time to READ what the person you were quoting had said, he was not suggesting that the removal of the Other OS feature was related to this break-in, he was merely pointing out a list of less-than-clever business moves from Sony.As a side point, simply because YOU do not run Windows does not make the the rootkit incident any less deplorable. It is neither here nor there. Please remove yourself from your high horse, it is unbecoming.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387146",
"author": "Jordan Gray",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T00:25:24",
"content": "What could Sony do…?Perhaps make everything open-source and/or sell out to Apple/Linux, or something",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387152",
"author": "cantido",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T00:37:57",
"content": "@Spork>>I’d rather have a new CVV2 and expiry to>>memorize than have to fight my card company>>for my money back.As long as you can prove the money was taken without your knowledge it’s very simple to get the money back and in a lot of cases you can get the money back even if you did the transaction. One company I worked for had a whole department to handle “charge backs” where customers buy something (usually virtual items, like poker chips or something) have buyers regret.. or with online gambling; don’t win anything and then call their card company and have the money charged back. I’ve worked at places that were PCI compliant yet had unlocked cupboard with stacks of print outs of CC number and addresses..>>Lastly can I show you the problem with>>how you reply to posts?Only if I can show you yours.You are basically saying I should hate Sony SCE for this root kit thing.. while I agree that was a bad thing I’m not going to go over the top and bring it up all the time whenever the word Sony is written somewhere on the internet. I’m also not going to try to use it as an explanation for why this has happened when anyone with half a clue can see that anyone that is going to risk something this big is doing it for the money.. If they are doing it as some crusade against rootkits and removal of OtherOS they are pretty stupid especially since there seems to be credit card fraud involved now.>I’m not picking on you because we disagreeOk, so now we don’t disagree, yet I’m a fanboy etc .. so we must disagree on something?>>civilized conversation.Ok, so, “SONY ARE THE EVILS!!” is sensible? Trying to make out that is was to do with DRM on 50 CDs that were recalled and issued by a different company or that it was to do with OtherOS being removed opposed to gaining access to a large stash of CC numbers and addresses is sensible? And I wasn’t being “negative”. Maybe you perceived me basically saying “That is total and utter bullshit” as being “negative”.. but wouldn’t all the “OH NOES ROOT KIT ON MY CD!” people also be classed as negative in your opinion classification scheme?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387156",
"author": "John",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T01:02:32",
"content": "I’ll tell you what; Fony will never have my trust after stealing functionality that I paid for. Now there’s the possibility that my personal data is compromised AND everyone else gets to suffer w/o the PSN as I have for wanting to run other OS. F.off, Sony. Taste your own medicine.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387162",
"author": "Tony",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T01:14:39",
"content": "The problem is that Sony has gotten way to big for their own egos. This is not too big a deal.. it happens to all big companies and for them is mostly a result of their actions against Geohot and others like him. Plus their bogus TOS and other BS.The biggest issue here is their lack of admitting the problem and trying to hide that fact from the consumer, who needed that critical time to close accounts and what not. So all they did by not telling anybody what really happened for so long was to basically say, “you as a customer mean nothing to us!” THAT IS THE WORST ANY COMPANY CAN DO.Diverse By Design",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387163",
"author": "candumbo",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T01:16:43",
"content": "Cantido, go elsewhere with your atacky mctackersonness. You’re arguments don’t make sense and you repeat yourself. I’m going to let you know now that I don’t care about you have to say to this. Your opinion means nothing to me, and after your baby D rant, I’m sure that others feel the same.-Rarindipidous.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387164",
"author": "JonChance",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T01:17:07",
"content": "What can Sony Computer/ BMG ETC .. do to regain any kind of trust… renaming itself to Microsoft might work… Right now Microsoft has better name then Sony. Naw… OtherOS support re-implemented but with GameOS Privs… Naw.. already got that .. Ya know that Sony trying to regain trust is like trying to make a good case for Charles Manson being released on parole… It would be easier to make Common sense … well Common…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387173",
"author": "Sariel",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T01:50:38",
"content": "wow, sony rocks sony sucks is all i have been seeing. how about a little less bitching about the pros and cons of Sony and more about why this happened. could this be a retaliation of its blackhat users for making George Hotz a martyr? Perhaps we could get a better idea of who the culprits are if we could find out what was bought? All i can say to the people who had their information stolen is that i DO NOT pitty you. you placed your trust in the hands of a company that is known for cutting corners where they shouldn’t, and make life more difficult for their consumers. Either way I look at it, if you’re a sony customer, you will lose by the hands of a criminal corporate or otherwise.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387174",
"author": "Spork",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T01:55:07",
"content": "@cantido>>As long as you can prove the money was taken without your knowledge it’s very simple to get the money back and in a lot of cases you can get the money back even if you did the transaction.That is not the point. It’s easy to do a lot of things, but it’s still a waste of time and energy that Sony could have prevented by taking proper action.If I back into your car, it’s still damaged and needs repair. Even if insurance covers it, you still have to go through the process. If I had just checked my mirror before backing up, you’d be fine.>>You are basically saying I should hate Sony SCE for this root kit thing.. while I agree that was a bad thing I’m not going to go over the top and bring it up all the time whenever the word Sony is written somewhere on the internet.I am ‘basically saying’ that they have screwed up in the past(and citing a source of information regarding that screw up), which is why they already have no rapport with me as a consumer. I’m not sure where the rest of your assumption comes in, but I am not saying ‘that’ at all.>>Ok, so now we don’t disagree, yet I’m a fanboy etc .. so we must disagree on something?We still disagree. I think you misunderstand the fact that I’m playing devil’s advocate against Sony here and you are not.Also you may not see how I use the word fanboy. Allow me to define it in this context: You have no affiliation with Sony/Sony BMG as far as I know, but you insist on protecting their reputation against the well-deserved negative commentary of HaD readers. Therefore I say ‘fanboy’ as a way of questioning your motives (eg. Are you a PR rep for Sony? Does a family member work for Sony? — What is the impetus to fight a battle for a company that just let tons of customers’ information become compromised?)>>or that it was to do with OtherOS being removedNotice how I never mentioned OtherOS or OtherThings that are irrelevant to this discussion?>>And I wasn’t being “negative”. Maybe you perceived me basically saying “That is total and utter bullshit” as being “negative”.. but wouldn’t all the “OH NOES ROOT KIT ON MY CD!” people also be classed as negative in your opinion classification scheme?Yes, everything wrong with you and your posts must simply be my perception. You are obviously infallible and you’d never do something like making a “negative” comment.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387177",
"author": "kak",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T02:09:03",
"content": "all because they got scared hackers would hack the Ps3 via the other os option. sony, you did this to yourself. It was the fact your system CAN run linux was why it was never really hacked before. you need to fire (kill off) your legal department.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387180",
"author": "minifig",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T02:19:15",
"content": "Regardless of the differences between Sony BMG, Sony Corporation, and whoever else there is, I’m seriously beginning to wonder how closely associated these Sony companies are, and how much any of them value security, vs. how they value obscurity/proprietary.How could they gain my trust back? Fire their entire executive board, replace it with entirely new people that have a good history (according to techies), hire a large number of security experts, show the world that they ramped up there Quality Assurance process to be more stringent (especially in security), and release some products with good software (especially according to hackers) for at least ten years straight.I’m pretty certain I’d at least be willing to give Sony the time of day if they did all that, which has not been the case since BMG’s Rootkit fiasco.In case I didn’t make it clear: I know that BMG is not the same company that did the PS3 and PSN. I don’t care.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387188",
"author": "DarkAurora",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T02:33:43",
"content": "Sony doesn’t have to do much to “regain my trust”. I use one-time codes for credit card info, and rely on my own measures (switching passwords, those one-time codes, etc) for security. A big company like this is bound to get targeted, and is also bound to (eventually) have their security hacked. Patch things up, increase security, and finger the person(s) that did it. That’s really all I could ever want.Now having PSN up would be nice, but I can live without for a few days.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387190",
"author": "Volfram",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T02:45:16",
"content": "@SporkStop wasting your time on cantido, he’s part of Sony’s spin team. I can dig up previous dirt, if you’d like.The only thing I can think of that Sony could do to regain my trust at this point would be to declare bankruptcy, shatter the company by division, and sell the pieces off to smaller companies.I’ve always been a fan of Sony hardware. I still own a PS2 and a hacked PSP. I own two Dualshock 3 controllers, which I use fairly regularly for playing games on my PC, one of which is the target for a mod project I have in the works. My E-Reader of choice is a Sony Reader Pocket Edition, specifically because it lacks the ability to phone home like the Kindle and Nook. Their engineers are clearly skilled.Sony’s management and executive staff can die in a fire.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387192",
"author": "therian",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T02:48:18",
"content": "so again, why PC wasn’t good enough for you ?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387198",
"author": "Volfram",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T02:59:41",
"content": "@therianwho, me?You may perhaps note that the Playstation 3 is absent from the list of items I mentioned. The day PSN returns to functionality will be a sad day for me, because it will mean an end to the financial drain that repairs are causing.My grudge actually is due to OtherOS and their response to GeoHot.(who once again, if I had the money, I would give him $250k and tell him he can only use it to pay fines incurred by deliberately violating Sony’s EULA again.)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387210",
"author": "Spork",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T03:19:44",
"content": "@VolframI’m not getting worked up and I enjoy a good debate. Thank you for the info though. :)Also, fun idea about Geo. Should start a campaign.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387212",
"author": "ZS",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T03:28:03",
"content": "A SUDDEN FLAME WAR!!!All i want to do is play some games online with friends in other states. At least give us game servers, and netflix back. Hell even leave purchased content disabled, just give us what we online gaming.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,203.342963
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/27/be-lazy-and-get-somewhere-at-the-same-time/
|
Be Lazy, And Get Somewhere At The Same Time
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"Arduino Hacks",
"Transportation Hacks"
] |
[
"hammock",
"ps2",
"WheelChair"
] |
Cruise the beach in comfortable Jamaican style with
this motorized hammock
. [Stephen Shaffer] and his friends built it for the
Red Bull Creation contest
which has as its number one requirement, the need to include an Arduino. We’re basically looking at a hammock frame made out of square pipe that has been put on wheels. Watch the video after the break to see the prototyping, construction, and final product. Looks like originally the electric wheelchair base that’s used for propulsion was centered below the hammock. One sharp turn and the rider/operator gets dumped out on the concrete.
The final version includes a couple of wheels that serve as outriggers, keeping the vehicle upright. A PlayStation 2 controller is used for steering and directional control. It’s polled by the Arduino, which then uses servo motors to control the original wheelchair joystick. At least that’s what we were able to figure out by watching the video.
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/22826209 w=470]
| 25
| 25
|
[
{
"comment_id": "387050",
"author": "theodore",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T22:06:32",
"content": "Want",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387066",
"author": "Terry",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T22:34:06",
"content": "What’s that net over the cooler? I’d like to get one of those but don’t know what they’re called.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387069",
"author": "Bill",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T22:38:46",
"content": "Hmm, I wonder if they used my PS2 Controller Arduino Library?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387070",
"author": "computerhobo",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T22:39:42",
"content": "HAH! Only missing one component… SUNBRELLA!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387072",
"author": "MrX",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T22:40:38",
"content": "I would do it with a bed instead, with a integrated condom storage :D",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387076",
"author": "Steve C.",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T22:42:38",
"content": "That’s Virginia Beach, Va in the video; 10 miles up the road from my house. I’m surprised this thing hasn’t caused a buzz around here.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387082",
"author": "hawkeyaez1",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T22:58:05",
"content": "Kinect it!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387085",
"author": "hawkeyaez1",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T23:00:52",
"content": "And, yes, for the record, I do realize a Kinect is a bit too much for the required Arduino to manage…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387101",
"author": "supershwa",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T23:23:07",
"content": "Smells like Burning Man. :P",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387103",
"author": "Hirudinea",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T23:25:20",
"content": "Here is my cheque book, here is a pen, write down any number and I will pay it!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387108",
"author": "nes",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T23:31:49",
"content": "The comfier hammocks are the ones without sticks stretching them out.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387111",
"author": "Parcanman",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T23:36:37",
"content": "I like seeing projects that involve an Arduino, but I’m less impressed by ones like this that could function fine without one and only have it for the sake of having it. Using servos to move the original joystick is just plain lazy when you could spend 3 bucks on an L298N and drive the motors directly from the Arduino.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387114",
"author": "Twerpling",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T23:41:04",
"content": "@ParcanmanI agree, unfortunately one of the rules of the Redbull Contest was to use an Arduino.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387157",
"author": "dfvsfvsv",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T01:03:54",
"content": "Terry: bungie net. check your local motorcycle shop",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387175",
"author": "Stephen Shaffer",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T01:56:07",
"content": "Yes, We used the PS2X library v1.6! There were many plans, automatic swinging, LED lights all over (there are some, but not very visible during the day), solar rechargeable, cup holder arms and more to be controlled by the PS2 controller. However time was our enemy and we focused on the main project til the last day!We only had to interface with servo motors because of “proprietary programming” by a certain wheelchair manufacturer, in the short time period we had, they’re engineers and my logic sniffer failed to give me usable data, and we went Xzibit style – yo dog, we heard you liked joysticks, so we put in a joystick to control your joystick!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387251",
"author": "ThinkLabs",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T06:22:43",
"content": "Sick! One of those guys is in my Circuit analysis class at ODU. Congrats on the article!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387259",
"author": "Pejeno",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T07:23:20",
"content": "That’s so stupid!I’ma need to give it a test drive for two months, you know, for security purposes.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387315",
"author": "madis_l",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T11:27:26",
"content": "I will wait for russian model – big moving masonary heater. Ofcouce Your name shold be Ivan to command it :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387328",
"author": "blue carbuncle",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T12:25:26",
"content": "It would be awesome if it caught on fire.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387368",
"author": "willow",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T13:27:11",
"content": "This project is full of win!Where was the video taken? Looks familiar to me.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387449",
"author": "soopergooman",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T15:29:01",
"content": "man do I ever need one of these, I see a great market potential for this. kinda reminds me of the chairs in Wall*E. someday(hopefully) this will be the way everyone gets around.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387614",
"author": "Rick",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T21:54:40",
"content": "It needs to drive itself so you can take a nap or read a book.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387821",
"author": "ourbite",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T08:14:10",
"content": "Definitely smells like Burning Man.http://people.tribe.net/982d9d6f-b9ff-4d9c-8f7d-237252e8e9a3/photos/67e65fed-cb4f-43f4-b57e-fd5d2fd801d9http://web.media.mit.edu/~tim/pix/2003burnman2/img_1094.jpgBut nice to see the hooks on this one for inertial guidance…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390795",
"author": "blackman",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T04:53:56",
"content": "@soopergoodman",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390796",
"author": "blackman",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T04:54:38",
"content": "@ soopergoodmanDid you not learn anything from WallE?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,203.443308
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/27/data-scraping-and-visualization-with-python/
|
Data Scraping And Visualization With Python
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Arduino Hacks",
"Misc Hacks"
] |
[
"arduino",
"data",
"netuino",
"pachube",
"serial",
"server monitoring"
] |
[Greg]
built himself a small indicator dial with his laser cutter
, and wanted to use it for visualizing server performance and load information. Before he started using it for server monitoring however, he thought he should test out his data parsing skills on a simpler data set.
Pachube has a wealth of information that can be freely used for whatever project you might have in mind, so [Greg] started looking around for something interesting to track. Eventually he located the data feed for a tanker ship and wired his dial to display the ship’s speed. He uses a Python script to interface with the Pachube API, which is fed to his Netduino board. A servo motor then changes the position of the dial based on the feed’s data. Since large tankers don’t change speed often, the experiment was a bit of a letdown. He searched for a bit and tuned into another feed that tracked wind speed in New Zealand, getting much better results.
His future plans include hooking it directly to his network and eventually using it to monitor his servers…at least once the novelty of tracking random data feeds wears off.
All of his code is available on GitHub, and he is happy to make a gauge for anyone who is interested, though he doesn’t currently list a price.
| 8
| 8
|
[
{
"comment_id": "387023",
"author": "Johannes",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T20:45:48",
"content": "Sorry for OT but I found the same Pocket Oscilloscope on ebay yesterday, and i was wondering if any of you hackaday’ers have had any experiences with it?Its dirt cheap, and maybe it is hackable too?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387025",
"author": "King Corvid",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T20:53:57",
"content": "I can just imagine an entire data center filled with these.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387035",
"author": "Adrian",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T21:34:38",
"content": "@Johannes whats the oscilloscope called?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387084",
"author": "Jelahaha",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T22:59:31",
"content": "@Adrian It’s a DSO nano.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387132",
"author": "pff",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T00:07:19",
"content": "hack of the centurybut seriously, is a rabbit and a snail the best way to describe server load?a slow to respond server would indicate its having to work pretty fast to keep up with demandi would go with an ice cream for no load and a turd for full load.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387215",
"author": "rotgnudju",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T03:39:36",
"content": "@Johannes i have the DSO nano v2, it is very hackable. it is open hardware and comes with a miniature screwdriver to take it apart. Same goes with firmware. i like it so much i will get the dso quad next month.things to know on the nano v2:-very easy to mod-transparent lcd screen cover is too soft.-the stereo plug for the probe; if it is out by 3mm IT WILL short the probes.-probe ground is same ground as usb.-you cant live without it after a while.nice hack, the tanker ship display thing gave me flashbacks from Hackers :P",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387221",
"author": "GCL",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T03:58:12",
"content": "@HAD group:The fellow is not running a Netduino, (although I wish he was.) He is indeed running a regular Arduino. But he also had a Netduino around as well, so that’s next up he says.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387260",
"author": "echodelta",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T07:28:25",
"content": "On behalf of Turtles. They are persistent and dogged at getting things done. Search YouTube for fast turtle you won’t believe the warp factor. Rabbits are like cable internet, stop and go this way and that way. If they aren’t laying eggs or making more. Snail-mail.A bank of these gauges are power output of the Krell machine (Forbidden Planet) look out!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,203.490496
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/27/server-room-light-and-temperature-monitoring/
|
Server Room Light And Temperature Monitoring
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Arduino Hacks"
] |
[
"thermostat"
] |
[Jaren] is occasionally forgetful, and frequently wonders if he’s left the lights on in his server room. Not knowing if the lights have been left on drives him nuts until he returns to work the next morning,
so he decided he had to do something
. He figured it would be easy enough to build a small sensor that would allow him to monitor the status of the overhead lights, but he didn’t want to have his micro controller’s abilities go to waste by performing one simple task. Instead, he laid out plans to add an array of other sensors which will allow him to monitor the room’s temperature, sound levels, as well as the current draw of the servers.
Right now the project is in the beginning stages, but he already has part of his sensor network established. He hooked up a TMP421-based temperature module along with a TEMT6000 ambient light sensor to his Arduino, which displays the data on a small LCD screen he purchased. More sensors are on order, so we should expect to see more progress in the coming weeks.
Hopefully when everything is completed we will see a full set of schematics and code so that anyone can buld their own server room monitoring network from his designs.
| 10
| 10
|
[
{
"comment_id": "386996",
"author": "therian",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T19:20:42",
"content": "I know what plants you serving",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387000",
"author": "Hirudinea",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T19:25:25",
"content": "Pot Temp? Yea, more like a grow op. :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387021",
"author": "1000100 1000001 1010110 1000101",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T20:34:50",
"content": "http://www.dipmicro.comSame LCD for $5.62 instead of $8, and shipping is cheap. I promoted the site a few days ago also…I think they owe me a discount!I also do not buy his story. Flow rate sensor will be added next.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387029",
"author": "Alex Parting",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T21:09:42",
"content": "I don’t see why anyone buys “ambient light sensor”. LEDs work just fine. Use a cheap red LED and you’d easily be able to tell if the lights are on. As well as having a power indicator/ status indicator…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387030",
"author": "techjoker",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T21:09:48",
"content": "Um, I monitor my servers temperatures directly, as well as my network equipment, UPS’s, HVAC Status. I am notified by SMS message and e-mail of any issues, and can check via the web. True, I don’t monitor if I left the lights on or not, but lets be honest, leaving the lights on in a server room means next to nothing when compared to all the other power you are using.I too am thinking server room monitoring might be a secondary purpose for this device and not the purpose for which the device was built.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387033",
"author": "j_jwalrus",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T21:23:45",
"content": "I made hackaday? sweet.@alex – ill try an LED next@techjoker – I agree, there are better ways.This originally started as a “I want to work on an electronics project but I don’t know what to make”.@DAVEPot = potentiometer. Reading an analog value from the “sweep” pin on a 5k potentiometer hooked between 5v and ground. It gave me something to test the LCD with… turns out it has a pretty poor refresh rate.next up…. connectivity?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387225",
"author": "Tom needer",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T04:12:27",
"content": "This Is a real crappy system… Look at sproutboard.com for open source rack mount arduino based sever room monitoring…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387293",
"author": "jaqen",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T09:15:27",
"content": "if all you worry about is whether you remembered to turn off lights you could use ahttp://www.telldus.se/products/tellstickwith a matching wall switch (works with a range of switches) to turn off the light via cron or a webinterface.It’s a great toy, I’m also using it to only turn on printer when theres a print job waiting, and turning on room ventilation where my home Linux server is, when it gets a little hot",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387314",
"author": "techjoker",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T11:24:47",
"content": "@j_jwalrusWell always good to have something to do, and that’s a good way to learn.What I would probably do next, is add door security to the project with an RFID access system. They sell kits with cards and reader pretty cheap, add a relay and electric strike and you could add access control and logging. Sweet!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1369422",
"author": "WilliamMundy",
"timestamp": "2014-04-22T12:07:52",
"content": "Really informative blog for Room temperature monitoring it would be easy enough to build a small sensor that would allow him to monitor the status of the overhead lights with micro controllers.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,203.747124
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/27/diy-lightbox-repurposes-useless-scanner/
|
DIY Lightbox Repurposes Useless Scanner
|
Brian Benchoff
|
[
"classic hacks"
] |
[
"lightbox",
"photography"
] |
[James] didn’t like losing detail when scanning in photographic negatives, so he
repurposed an old scanner
and turned it into a lightbox.
The
Flickr set
of the build shows [James] installing a compact fluorescent bulb in the body of the scanner. Aluminum foil reflects the light, and the scanner glass is painted white for diffusion. [James] is quite happy with the result, and is amazed by the detail seen in the negatives under magnification instead of scanning.
We’re trying to figure out [James]’s though process in deciding to build a light box, and the best we can come up with is the hackaday mantra of, “Of course I can do that myself.” Even though he seems happy with his project, we’re wondering how hackaday readers would improve it. Maybe several dozen red, green, and blue LEDs to adjust the
color temperature
? Post your ideas in the comments.
| 14
| 14
|
[
{
"comment_id": "386978",
"author": "Gary",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T18:28:55",
"content": "I’m wondering if this could be adapted for photo transfer pc techniques",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386981",
"author": "Whatnot",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T18:33:51",
"content": "That LED idea is truly daft :)If you actually wanted to change the temperature I’d go with shoving in colored paper under the bulb maybe? LED are just too tiny a point and you’ll never get a uniform result.I also see no point in using an old scanner though. unless you really have an empty case in the house. then you of course might as in this case, but I’d not look for an old scanner for this purpose.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386984",
"author": "echodelta",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T18:47:49",
"content": "White paint? I made one years ago, for a cartooning friend. He purchased the glass from Germany, double diffused on both surfaces clear in the inside. Rounded edges on the top so overhanging work don’t get creased.Two circular florescent lights 22w and 33w were co-centered in the center in a baking pan reflector.First you sketched up on regular paper for feel then the faint pencil lines would show thru art stock laid on top. The properties of the glass are important. Those faint lined stood out clearer with the heavy stock on top, for inking in the final cartoon. It was a popular strip in the Purdue Exponent.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386987",
"author": "Chris W",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T18:50:59",
"content": "I was going to do something similar using an old scanner I have with a defused cold cathode light in the lid. After removing the light from the lid to mount inside the body I dound that the inverter was bad. Rather then play around with the inverter to find what is bad I’m going to just order a kit with two lights and and inverter and use soemthing else to defuse the light.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386993",
"author": "Amnon",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T19:17:00",
"content": "Few years ago I have build some thing like that from ascaner using the scaner cl bolbs (I have used 2 cl bolbs from 2 scaners) and add an opaque DCFIX on the glass as a defuser.It worked perfectly!Amnon",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386997",
"author": "xeracy",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T19:22:57",
"content": "my dad made one for hand drafting that was large enough for a 30″ x 42″ vellum print. Wooden box, 8″ deep, with a frosted glass surface that was sturdy enough to lean on. He used fluorescent tubes as the light source. This was in the early 90s, btw.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386999",
"author": "zero",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T19:24:30",
"content": "I did this with a monitor that I got from a friend. It had the lcd cracked – removed the panel and mounted everything back and now it has a really nice natural white light ( and with a little blind guessing you can change the luminosity )",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387051",
"author": "macw",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T22:08:14",
"content": "I’ve made a similar light”box” (light panel maybe?) from the backlight and diffusers from an old LCD. It works really well for viewing slides and negatives, but it’s not so hot for scanning or photographing them. In order to get a dynamic range that’s even close to what’s in the original negatives, you want to have an extraordinarily bright light illuminating them, and most LCDs aren’t up to the task. The best solution I’ve found so far is to literally use the sunlight in an open window as the illumination source.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387073",
"author": "Beboe",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T22:41:00",
"content": "I’ve gone done this so many times. Actually just the other day these kids beat up a copier and after chasing them out of my neighbors parking spot, in fear they where going to leave broken tire popping bits. I looked through it like I usually do when I see some thing instant parted like this and discovered the tops of copiers are way better and bigger light boxes than scanners. this one had a nice swing up thing to, which made it super thin and wide.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387272",
"author": "Max",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T08:05:31",
"content": "Same idea, different wavelength. I’ll need one of these as a DIY PCB UV box. Old scanner shell: check. Dismantled Philips UV lamp complete with reflector: check. Spare time to actually do it: …ummm, what’s that?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387301",
"author": "Jakob",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T10:33:31",
"content": "Cool!!!! =)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387317",
"author": "pete",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T11:48:49",
"content": "Yesterday I bought a light box that hangs in a doctors office for viewing xray prints from the local reuse center. It’s about 18″x24″, works, is in great cosmetic condition and cost $15",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389227",
"author": "Anitokyo",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T15:19:38",
"content": "I did this scanner and sent a photo with it like 2 years ago to this site!!!!!!!!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "442508",
"author": "reza",
"timestamp": "2011-08-27T05:25:51",
"content": "I remember my friend trying to hack (actually repairing) his monitor but his monitor become useless completely :(Epson V500",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,203.954219
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/27/motion-controlled-reddit-vote-sign/
|
Motion Controlled Reddit Vote Sign.
|
Jesse Congdon
|
[
"Arduino Hacks",
"Featured",
"how-to"
] |
[
"accelerometer",
"arduino",
"i2c",
"led"
] |
A little while back I attended the largest east coast gathering of folks from the ever popular social news site, Reddit.com. Those of you familiar with Reddit already know that it is all about link aggregation. Users post links to interesting websites and material, and can then vote up or vote down content based on interest or relevance. Through the magical site algorithms original and interesting content is, as implied, aggregated up to the front page. The whimsical nature of this big DC event lead many people to furnish signs of all types based on the culture of the site, internet memes, etc… The signs that really caught my attention were based primarily on the stylistic site layout, blowing up mail icons and other Reddit specific graphics.
The concept of using site graphics gave me the idea of being able to personally vote up or down other peoples’ signs. It was far too easy to just make a cardboard arrow, and I don’t have a color printer. I happened to have a shelved coffee table project involving orange and blue LEDs. Same colors as the arrows! Sweet. To make this project work I would have to work entirely from my project pile, there simply was no time to order anything from the internet. I managed to crank out a functional up/down voting sign in 3 days leading up to the gathering (and the morning of), here is what I did:
What I Had Around The House:
Orange and Blue LEDs – 124 each. Extras from a coffee table project that is currently shelved.
Breadboard – I have tons of this stuff lying around, surface mount friendly square flavor!
MOSFETs – Another shelved project, an electric motor controller so these could handle many amps.
Resistors – I only had SMD resistors in the values I needed, this turned out to be a huge hassle.
Arduino Nano – I keep this one kicking around project free for just such an occasion.
Trippe Axis I2C Accelerometer – I built a little breakout board and toaster oven soldered the thing a long long time ago. We only really need one of the three axises for this project.
SPDT Switch.
Voltage Regulator – The Arduino could technically make enough 5v to power everything, I decided to not risk it though.
A knife worthy of foam core board, I used a pen knife.
Tweezers, solder, soldering iron, wire, a steady hand, patience.
Stuff I had to get:
Poster Board – Craft store!
Hot Glue – Craft store!
9V battery clips – This was a snap decision, I got these the day of the event!
Layout The LEDs:
Now its time to recreate the pixel graphics. The site has a very simple low res graphics, below is a close up of the activated voting buttons.
Since I have far more LEDs than sense, I decided to place an LED at the intersections of the pixels. All these great ideas on how to diffuse the light were tossed around, wax paper and what not, they would have looked amazing but time intervened. I had to pick a strategy and go with it. I traced the pixel art onto peg board and used the holes as a guide, the total is 124 LEDs per arrow. In order to fit in one inch squares the arrows overlap one another. The design was drawn out onto peg board (again the coffee table project) and then transferred to some foam core poster board.
This left a nice guide for all the LEDs. There are companies out there that make very specific foam board hole punches, but my local craft store had nothing like it. So I was forced to use the pen knife to spoon drill the holes, all 248.
Once all the holes were drilled I had to press the LED into its slot, this was pretty labor intensive. 5mm LEDs can really damage your fingers.
I tried to get the arrow gradient by spacing out the last couple LEDs in the pattern, it went
okay
. Some resistor tweaking could produce a more convincing fade out. Dual orange/blue LEDs would have been even cooler. To protect all the wiring and LEDs I glued an arrow shaped section of foam core to the back of the sign (left over from diffusion experiments), this let a bit too much light through the back of the edge LEDs. I’d recommended cutting a slightly larger backing and attaching it with a weak adhesive or Velcro to allow future access to the electronics.
The Circuit:
Now that all of the LEDs are mounted I plugged a few variables about my setup into an
LED calculator
. I had to determine some values experimentally since blue and orange are slightly different, and I long since have lost any data pertaining to them. My source voltage is 18v, I used a multimeter to find the voltage drop and a power supply with a current meter to measure the forward current of the LEDs.
The calculator told me I could string the oranges up in chains of 9, with a 1Ω resistor for each chain. The orange array would draw 448mA from the batteries. The blues each consume 4 volts and around 70mA (!!). The blues were wired in groups of four, with a 33Ω resistor on each chain. The blue LEDs draw 2.1A from the source. This is about when I decided on the heavy duty MOSFETs from an electric motor project. The leads of the LEDs were then bent down to wire them together. Since I only had surface mount resistors I had to run ALL of the LED positive wires back to the PCB using some wire wrap wire I had lying around, this is one of those cases where a through hole resistor and some thick bus wire could have made life MUCH easier. The LED grounds were created with some low gauge bus wire, and separated for the up/down portions of the sign.
Switches are fun, people love a good SPDT. They are robust, can handle lots of current… they are really good at toggling LEDs. You know what people
really
love though? Accelerometers. People love accelerometers, and I happen to have a whole hand full of these buggers in my pile of goodies. Somewhere in the solder smoke and endless wire bonding I had the insane idea to use my spare Arduino to control the arrows, and trigger them off some sort of gesture.
Below is the final circuit. The 3 axis accelerometer is extreme overkill, Cheap analog accelerometers are easily found soldered and coded for and I would go with one of those were I to do this project again. I also failed to include a potentiometer and code to fade the LEDs via PWM. Don’t judge me, I ran out of time! You may also notice that the voltage regulator is more or less tacked on haphazardly, I had a really nice switching regulator but the stupid thing had the
audacity
to explode! The nerve! At least it didn’t happen during the event.
Code:
The accelerometer I had on hand is the LIS3LV02DQ, which was offered by sparkfun back in the
stone age
. I found my own block of code to modify but the site is currently down, you can find a slightly more complete example of the original
here
and the sparkfun page also has code, this made life really easy. All I had to do was figure out what axis was vertical and set up a threshold to flip on either MOSFET. Gravity affects the axis facing down, so its threshold had to be offset by 1024. I also think the accelerometer was upside down since I wound up at a smaller negative number than positive, either way messing around with the serial output on really helps to dial in the values.
Testing also revealed that I needed some kind of ‘lock out’ timer. When you flick the sign vertically acceleration peaks on one axis but then reverses on itself as you pull the sign back down. I used 1 second although this value could be shorter. Here is the code, don’t forget to check out [Troy]’s
code
for more heavily commented accelerometer stuff:
#include <Wire.h>
// TWI (I2C) sketch to communicate with the LIS3LV02DQ accelerometer
// Using the Wire library (created by Nicholas Zambetti)
// http://wiring.org.co/reference/libraries/Wire/index.html
// This Code is modified to toggle two digital outs based on
// A sudden acceleration upwards or downwards on the Y axis
// -Jesse Congdon
//Modified code from http://research.techkwondo.com/blog/julian/279
//Thanks Julian.
#define OUTX_L 0x28
#define OUTX_H 0x29
#define OUTY_L 0x2A
#define OUTY_H 0x2B
#define OUTZ_L 0x2C
#define OUTZ_H 0x2D
#define XAXIS 0
#define YAXIS 1
#define ZAXIS 2
int downvote = 5; //pins 3 and 5 can handle PWM too
int upvote = 3;
int ledtoggle = 0;
int upgesture = 1800;
int downgesture = -1200;
int lockout = 1000;
boolean lockouttoggle = false;
void setup() {
Wire.begin(); // join i2c bus (address optional for master)
Serial.begin( 9600 );
Wire.beginTransmission( 0x1D );
Wire.send( 0x20 ); // CTRL_REG1 ( 20h )
Wire.send( 0x87 ); // Device on, 40hz, normal mode, all axis’s enabled
Wire.endTransmission();
pinMode(downvote, OUTPUT);
pinMode(upvote, OUTPUT);
}
void loop() {
int val[3];
// transmit to device with address 0×1D
// according to the LIS3L* datasheet, the i2c address of is fixed
// at the factory at 0011101b (0×1D)
Wire.beginTransmission( 0x1D );
// set the MSB so we can do multiple reads, with the register address auto-incremented
Wire.send( OUTX_L | 0x80);
Wire.endTransmission();
// Now do a transfer reading six bytes from the LIS3L*
// This data will be the contents of the X Y and Z registers
Wire.requestFrom( 0x1D, 6 );
while ( Wire.available() < 6 ) {
delay( 5 );
}
// read the data
for ( int i = 0; i < 3; i++ ) {
// read low byte
byte low = Wire.receive();
// read the high byte
val[i] = ( Wire.receive() << 8 ) + low;
}
//keep this in for testing
//Serial.print( " y_val = " );
//Serial.println( val[YAXIS], DEC );
//Now that we have a Y value, does it signify a jerk up or down.
if(val[YAXIS] > upgesture){
ledtoggle = 1;
lockouttoggle = true;
}
if(val[YAXIS] < downgesture){
ledtoggle = 2;
lockouttoggle = true;
}
//blue? orange? what are you trying to say to me toggle.
switch(ledtoggle){
case 0:
digitalWrite(upvote, LOW);
digitalWrite(downvote,LOW);
break;
case 1:
digitalWrite(upvote,HIGH);
digitalWrite(downvote,LOW);
break;
case 2:
digitalWrite(upvote,LOW);
digitalWrite(downvote,HIGH);
break;
}
//This allows me to pause the program to avoid debounce
//also you dont have to throw the sign and gently catch it to
//make it change.
if(lockouttoggle == true){
delay( lockout );
lockouttoggle = false;
}
}
Results:
Sucess! The batteries ran down on me several times (I learned four packs of 9v batteries are expensive). My battery issues stem from the long chains of LEDs. You can see in the above image that the oranges are already starting to die while the higher current blues are destroying the camera. Also note that the remaining 7 LEDs got their own chain and are, as a result, much much brighter. Therefore, smaller chains of diodes means that the LEDs can stay bright under lower voltages. Silly of me to not realize this sooner. The orange LEDs would become tough to see after about an hour of continuous use.
This was a really fun project, everybody got a kick out of it and I think I have invented a new form of crowd control.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptaiiarhj2Y&w=470]
Thanks for reading!
| 14
| 14
|
[
{
"comment_id": "386906",
"author": "xeracy",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T15:41:46",
"content": "inb4redditcomments",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386938",
"author": "Hackius",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T17:02:39",
"content": "Too bad reddit is currently in emergency mode.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386983",
"author": "Whatnot",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T18:45:26",
"content": "PWM those LED to half brightness? That should reduce the power a lot and can be done without extra parts.But I think the lesson here is that for some things LED are NOT the answer, or at least not with 9volt batteries, use a small-ish 12V bike battery or something.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386986",
"author": "Jesse Congdon",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T18:50:16",
"content": "@Whatnot I actually intended to go with a cordless drill battery, but I needed something that could be bought at shops (in case it died) and something light to mount on the sign itself. I wasn’t about to wander around huge crowds in DC with electronics wired into my bag. 9Vs can be found at 24 hour drug stores too.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387034",
"author": "macegr",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T21:34:16",
"content": "AA cells can also be easily found, and have much better capacity and maximum current draw for this type of thing.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387038",
"author": "Whatnot",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T21:47:48",
"content": "@jesse Yeah the availability is good, but still heh, those 9v only hold a very tiny amount of mA.From 300mAh for NiMH through 400mAh for old style carbon-zinc through 550mAh for alkaline to 1200 for lithium, but that’s gotta be pricey.And with that many LED, ouch.Might even be better to use a CCFL in terms of poweruse, which I think draw about 500mA per tube?I actually don’t recall ever seeing an arduino controlling a CCFL come to think of it, not that I’ve seen every project of course :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387227",
"author": "gdogg",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T04:15:47",
"content": "reddit is the shit. For those of you who haven’t visited, give it a shot. Hopefully it’s not currently down. I guarantee you that when it’s up, it’s a site worth bookmarking if not homepaging.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387490",
"author": "Whatnot",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T17:04:48",
"content": "@gdogg Reddit’s crowd are a bit of a weird cult though, and it’s not for everybody, but sure it’s not a bad idea to check it out to see if it’s for you.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387536",
"author": "Nothanks",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T18:43:59",
"content": "Another way to go for this would have been to use a fiber optics bundle instead of discrete LEDs, alahttp://www.instructables.com/id/Star-Map/. Still, great project.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "401299",
"author": "Keith",
"timestamp": "2011-06-03T10:44:25",
"content": "try multiplexing the leds for the power consumption issue. :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "403355",
"author": "Aus_Rob",
"timestamp": "2011-06-09T07:37:42",
"content": "Nice :) What MOSFET did you use?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "403437",
"author": "Jesse Congdon",
"timestamp": "2011-06-09T13:21:44",
"content": "Great question, let me pull up a few order histories and see if I can find it! It is way way overpowered for this application though, it was really meant for an electric motor.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "403438",
"author": "Jesse Congdon",
"timestamp": "2011-06-09T13:23:24",
"content": "Here we are, it is the IRF 3205 Power MOSFET 55V 110A.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "411885",
"author": "kwojo",
"timestamp": "2011-06-30T20:53:36",
"content": "reed switches….",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,203.804158
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/27/googles-secret-perk-a-private-hackerspace/
|
Google’s Secret Perk? A Private Hackerspace
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"News"
] |
[
"hackerspace"
] |
Working for Google has always had many perks, and most of them are pretty well known. Google employees enjoy free food, on-site workout facilities, and one free day a week to work on whatever they like – but you knew that already. One Google perk however,
has been kept pretty quiet until just recently
.
Google has provided a hackerspace on their campus for about four years now, which is open to any employee that meets some pretty strict requirements. A written test is given before an employee can access the facilities, and even then they must be deemed worthy of working on particular pieces of equipment.
The idea behind the hackerspace was to help Google stay rooted in the philosophy that, “all good things start in the garage”. While a lot of the employees embark on fun personal projects, several pieces of familiar Google technology were born in the workshop. For instance, the Google Streetview “trikes” were created there, along with a few smartphone prototypes, autonomous car components, and even some secret projects Google declines to speak about at the moment.
It’s an unbelievably cool job perk, and we would be lying if we said we weren’t jealous. For now, we will just have to be happy with stale coffee from the break room.
[via the
Adafruit Blog
]
[Image via
AP
]
| 39
| 39
|
[
{
"comment_id": "386831",
"author": "Aaron",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T12:21:42",
"content": "+1 for photo choice. If we weren’t previously convinced that the Mountain View building is just a cover for the secret volcanic-island HQ where Google carries out its actual operations, we certainly will be now — I mean, if anyone ever looked like a henchman, it’s that guy.(Also, in before anyone else makes a ‘Google goggles’ pun. It’s not funny when I’m doing it and it won’t be when you do, either.)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386834",
"author": "Hackius",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T12:28:59",
"content": "So how do the rights work for the inventions developed in this hackerspace?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386835",
"author": "damox",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T12:30:39",
"content": "So jelly.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386855",
"author": "blue carbuncle",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T13:40:04",
"content": "I would assume it is a not evil version of Disney’s IP rules. Anything you make outside of urine and feces belongs to them. If urine and feces prices continue to rise, that may be eroded as well.I consider myself a lone captain on the sea and as such my shite belongs to me, my rum, and my Makarov. The dog hasn’t been cleared on the Mak so it isn’t part of the plan at the moment…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386857",
"author": "Ray",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T13:46:55",
"content": "Placing a sentry!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386858",
"author": "Gerrit Coetzee",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T13:47:14",
"content": "Mmmm… the stalest of coffee.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386859",
"author": "avrpunk",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T13:49:05",
"content": "Strange that Google hires people that do not know their limitations, and then must have testing to keep the functional retards from blowing themselves up with welding gases.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386862",
"author": "John",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T14:03:05",
"content": "Googlers are definitely sucking down their own brand of Kool-aid, that’s for sure.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386863",
"author": "jim",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T14:07:08",
"content": "I dunno, Google is definitely the king of “has too much information about its customers and we don’t even know for what purposes.” If a private investigator monitored everything from where my router is located to my internet activity to photographing my house, and then selectively “passed this on to select business partners” and or published it, I wouldn’t be happy.So, for all the pomp they have about being innovators, sometimes I wish they’d just piss off.PS: posting this via my Android smartphone. Arrrrgh.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386864",
"author": "jim",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T14:08:47",
"content": "@avrpunkIt’s probably like when you join a gym and have to complete an induction course and sign a waiver.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386869",
"author": "fartface",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T14:23:00",
"content": "Nice if you don’t mind giving away your ideas to the corporation.Bad if you discover something wold changing and the mother corporation makes Millions and you get a email that says “nice job”I’ll keep my hackerspace at home thank you.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386870",
"author": "Hackerspacer",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T14:24:22",
"content": "It is refreshing to see a hackerspace with a real fume hood over the cutting torch area.But why does he wear full leather gloves and welding outfit but pretty much the cheapest goggles possible? I mean, they protect your eyes fine and all (as long as you use the right shade) but not your face or head. I know they sell full face masks for torch cutting/brazing/plasma cutting and they are not that expensive either.I guess torch cutting generates much less UV than say, welding but why go to the effort of looking the part so to speak and then not go all the way?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386873",
"author": "randomViewer",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T14:33:23",
"content": "Google isn’t the only company to offer this perk. At least one other company, Raytheon, provides the same benefit to their employees.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386900",
"author": "glug",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T15:26:55",
"content": "When I worked at Ford, I had access to the DIY machine shop. Initially we just used it. Later, we were required to take an 8 hour safety and proper machine use course.We had a *really* great instructor from the local community college, and his teachings have no doubt saved me from injury countless times. Thank you Hank!Safety training and checkout are essential. Ultimately, no matter how smart, some people are not wired to work around high speed machinery. Or live high voltage. Etc.It was a really great shop, and a nice perk. Some people would abuse such a perk, but I didn’t see it where I was. I observed great benefits to the company from that shop. As an employer, I want to hire people who invent and build stuff. I want them interacting with other employees who invent and build stuff. Etc.Nobody asked what you were making. There was no “IP”. I suspect it is similar at google.When I left, I bought my own mill and lathe. My mill is much better, but I miss the Hardinge tool room lathe they had. That thing was sweeeeet.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386904",
"author": "macona",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T15:39:33",
"content": "@HackerspacerHe is welding, not cutting. The only thing you get with welding is bright light which is what the goggles provide protection from. When gas welding (Not brazing) there are sparks thrown so it is advantageous to wear leathers.Now if they just taught him how to hold the torch…As for the shop perk there are also shops on military bases where the guys can go to work on stuff.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386912",
"author": "Shaddack",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T15:56:35",
"content": "@avrpunk: People who don’t know their limitations aren’t constrained by them. In implementation phase it may lead into a disaster. In development phase it may also lead into a breakthrough.@macona: True. However, in civilian settings, “being shot at” is usually not in the job description. This puts the military option into a certain level of disadvantage.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386919",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T16:21:25",
"content": "“you have coffee?”“You have a break room????”",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386920",
"author": "golddigger",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T16:24:37",
"content": "Isn’t that the ghost containment storage facility from Ghostbusters in the background!? Whatever you do don’t turn it off. To turn it off would be bad…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386925",
"author": "Toolboy",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T16:38:09",
"content": "I guess that means Apple will provide this to their employees in about a year and the media will gush about how Apple invented the Hackerspace concept.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386933",
"author": "DoktorJ",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T16:45:41",
"content": "@Shaddack Personally, I’d be less worried about getting shot at than the killing innocent civilians part of the job description.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386937",
"author": "tony",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T16:58:29",
"content": "I think he’s brazing, actually. More like soldering than welding. The leathers are complete overkill for brazing as there are no sparks like welding or grinding. Eye protection is always a good idea, however.Cool idea though. I do wonder how they deal with intellectual property.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386962",
"author": "Roman Dulgarov",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T17:53:33",
"content": "Aha, now I know where your lab is Than!!! I’m coming to crash hackspace! :) J/k but if i’m in area I def gota stop by :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386977",
"author": "EvilEngineer",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T18:23:31",
"content": "So, would you all be interested in a publicly available shop like this?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386979",
"author": "Ren",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T18:32:01",
"content": "When I worked for an “atmospheric research” facility in Boulder, Colorado (over a decade ago, so this may not longer be true), they had a mini-machine shop available for employees to use, right next to the REAL machine shop. And yes, to use it, you had to prove, by example or trade-school certificate, that you knew what you were getting into. I never pursued that option. IIRC it had a mill, lathe, drill press, bandsaw and a few other things.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386982",
"author": "xed",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T18:44:26",
"content": "@evilengineerThere is one, and it’s totally free to use.It’s calledhttp://thegeekgroup.org/I have never actually been there myself, but i would love to get into the CNC room.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386994",
"author": "echodelta",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T19:17:09",
"content": "A small shop tradition late night or weekend hacking.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387061",
"author": "macona",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T22:24:08",
"content": "@tonyIf he is brazing it is without flux, as the rod is uncoated and there is no container in sight. One would usually keep it near the hand used to hold the rod.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387071",
"author": "Matt",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T22:40:11",
"content": "Probably just a stock photo anyway. Or HAD set it up to troll you guys =)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387138",
"author": "Volfram",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T00:12:11",
"content": "@DoktorJ: Can you give a reference for that? What you’re describing there is known as a “war crime,” and all recent incidents I’m aware of were blatantly illegal, and the soldiers responsible for them are going to be punished most severely.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387171",
"author": "joedirt",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T01:42:47",
"content": "A bit unusual image of software engineer Ihab Awad going the extra distance fully leathered up, but unfortunately leaves his face and lid vulnerable.For the record, he had a mullet and a Santa Claus beard on April 11, 2011.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387186",
"author": "Hackerspacer",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T02:32:30",
"content": "Welding gives off UV light though, which is why you protect your eyes but you also want to protect your skin to avoid “sun” burn.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387187",
"author": "Hackerspacer",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T02:33:23",
"content": "Welding with a brazing torch like this isn’t nearly as bad (in terms of UV light production) as traditional (TIG, MIG, Stick) welding however.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387323",
"author": "blue carbuncle",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T12:23:27",
"content": "@Volfram Join the military. How about prosecuting the Vietnamese for still holding POWs? Nah I reckon it would be like Amnesty International that only prosecutes the US because they are allowed to inspect unlike most guerilla/govt paramilitary groups that actually beat the tar out of their own people and dump folks in mass graves. How is the official AI report from the Sudan going? There isn’t…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387398",
"author": "Volfram",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T14:06:30",
"content": "@carbunkle: Aside from the fact that I have a medical disqualification from military service, my best friend is currently serving overseas. He was recently back here on leave to celebrate his daughter’s birthday.Beyond that, I can’t make heads or tails out of what you’re trying to say. Are you supporting me or the militant pacifist up there?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387443",
"author": "NateOcean",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T15:23:29",
"content": "HP used to have this. Back in the days when HP actually made stuff.Unfortunately, the full time machine shope employees pretty much sabotaged it. The machine shop employees were piqued that an engineer might occasionally need to drill a few holes in a lab prototype right NOW, and didn’t want to fill out a build request for the machine shop to execute in a week or two, once they got off one of their perennial coffee breaks.So in the end the machine shop employees made sure the press punches weren’t aligned, and all the drill bits were perfectly dulled, and the bins of scrap material pretty much depleted of anything useful.And then themachine shope employees pitched a fit when all their jobs got shipped to China, and without ever wondering why.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387452",
"author": "IamAWelder",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T15:42:00",
"content": "@Hackerspace1) UV light is not generated in siginificant enough proportions to be of a concern when welding using the oxygen acetylene welding process.2)Those goggles provide plenty of protection. There isn’t enough UV to burn your skin so all you need to worry about is the IR burning out your eyeballs. Plus the process doesn’t throw sparks unless you really suck and shove the neutral flame directly into the center of the puddle.3) He isn’t welding, he is brazing it what looks like the 1F position.4)Quit talking shit about things you know nothing about.5)I agree the leathers are laughable, I’ll weld the OAW process in jeans, a t-shirt and dark sunglasses usually.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387550",
"author": "mikey",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T19:01:06",
"content": "Yep, they have some high speed stuff up their sleeve right now in process. That’s all I’ll say.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387606",
"author": "Volfram",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T21:33:47",
"content": "@NateOcean: my dad’s a former HP employee and he used to tell stories about that, too.Back in the days when Bill Hewlett himself was still part of the company, he went in to the shop one day to find the cabinet had a lock on it. He took a pair of bolt cutters to the lock and left a note stating that the next person to lock the cabinet was fired.By the time my dad left the company, it was standard policy to have a lock on the cabinet :(",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387612",
"author": "Hack-Ola",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T21:51:01",
"content": "NOTE: If you are from Oslo, Norway, and in case you read this and became a bit jealous: don’t worry.You should join the upcoming hackerspace in Oslo, anyone can become a member. See their website, Makers.—–For anyone interested in hackerspaces, see the global hackerspace catalog wiki if there’s one near you:http://hackerspaces.org",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,203.699025
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/27/watch-hacking-one-day-at-a-time/
|
Watch Hacking, One Day At A Time
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"clock hacks"
] |
[
"clock",
"inPulse",
"timepiece",
"watch"
] |
If there is one thing hackers return to time and time again, it is clock/watch hacking. There are always creative ways to tell time, and with several “hackable” wristwatches on the market, there is bound to be no shortage of neat timepiece hacks.
[hudson] from NYC Resistor has decided to
take on a fun challenge for the next month
revolving around his programmable inPulse watch. Over the upcoming
30
27 days, he will design, program, and publish a watch face for the timepiece. He already has 3 days behind him,
and the results are pretty interesting
. The concepts are creative and functional, though due to time constraints they sometimes end up a little less polished than he would like.
All of the code is available on
his Bitbucket page
if you have an inPulse watch and would like to play along or improve on his work.
We think it’s a pretty cool project, and we are eager to see what he produces each day. Stick around to see a quick video showing off one of his 3D watch faces.
[flickr video=http://www.flickr.com/photos/osr/5647629954 w=470]
| 13
| 13
|
[
{
"comment_id": "386815",
"author": "Paul",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T11:34:54",
"content": "Nice! I just got my inpulse last week; this is rad, thanks!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386832",
"author": "g3cko",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T12:23:58",
"content": "This is pure awesome!I was looking for a watch the other day, but couldn’t make my mind… Well, this post made it an easy decision =)Thanks Had",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386833",
"author": "David",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T12:24:06",
"content": "Pretty, however there is a much more interesting if deliberately uninformative watch review/hack covered by the BBC etc :http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13194733",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386850",
"author": "JCO",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T13:22:34",
"content": "Really cool watch. How ’bout a link for where to buy one?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386852",
"author": "Andrew",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T13:27:02",
"content": "Haha! Time constraints!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386875",
"author": "steaky",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T14:48:54",
"content": "sure the watch is cool, but the battery life is a bit of a dog… “aggressive power management it can be up to 3 days”",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386898",
"author": "bogdanm",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T15:15:50",
"content": "I wanted to get one of those, but the price and the fact that it has only a single button (really, what were they thinking?) made me reconsider. If I could only have that kind screen on a TI Chronos … THAT would be an awesome watch.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386972",
"author": "DF417",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T18:19:48",
"content": "The real question is, which way is the pot spinning?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386973",
"author": "JCO",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T18:19:58",
"content": "@bogdanm – Yeah, if I had the cash lying around, I would definitely get one. Kind of a lot of cash though. A second button would be nice.As for the power, it’s too bad they couldn’t put in some sort of kinetic charging device.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387003",
"author": "echodelta",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T19:28:45",
"content": "Battery life questions for sure. It’s nice to look at a clock that reflects the fact that there are 24 hours in a day, not that zeroless medieval crap of 12.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387097",
"author": "Haku",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T23:13:17",
"content": "“Single button input”Wait, what?Is that some sort of joke? All that power in one tiny package and they only give you one button to control it? If I was putting down that kind of money for a hackable watch I’d want at least two buttons!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387110",
"author": "Kabuki",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T23:36:37",
"content": "I recently bought my son one of the Realtech Spy Watches by Jakk’s Pacific, and was impressed by the power and functionality. I was thinking of picking one up for myself. I have done a few net searches, but have not found any evidence of anyone hacking these yet. Have any of you seen anything?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "439381",
"author": "Alan Robinson",
"timestamp": "2011-08-22T10:49:38",
"content": "@ Kabuki i know the watch your talking about and no i havent found any hacks for it yet",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,204.059395
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/26/enhance-your-key-fob-via-can-bus-hacking/
|
Enhance Your Key Fob Via CAN Bus Hacking
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Transportation Hacks"
] |
[
"arduino",
"can-bus",
"sniffing",
"vw"
] |
[Igor] drives a 4th generation Volkswagen Golf, and decided he wanted to play around with the CAN bus for a bit. Knowing that the comfort bus is the most accessible and the safest to toy with,
he started poking around to see what he could see
(
Google translation
).
He pulled the trim off one of the rear doors and hooked into the comfort bus with an Arudino and a CAN interface module. He sniffed the bus’ traffic for a bit, then decided he would add some functionality to the car that it was sorely lacking. The car’s windows can all be rolled down by turning the key in any lock for more than a few seconds, however this cannot be done remotely. The functionality can be added via 3rd party modules or through manipulating the car’s programming with some prepackaged software, but [Igor]
wanted to give it a go himself
.
He programmed the Arduino to listen for longer than normal button presses coming from the remote. Once it detects that he is trying to roll the windows up or down, the Arduino issues the proper window control commands to the bus, and his wish is the car’s command.
It’s a pretty simple process, but then again he has just gotten started. We look forward to seeing what else [Igor] is able to pull off in the future. In the meantime, continue reading to see a quick video of his handiwork.
If you are interested in seeing what you might be able to do with your own car, check out
this CAN bus sniffer
we featured a while back.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JQyTYB3ZoA&w=470]
| 30
| 29
|
[
{
"comment_id": "386505",
"author": "neorazz",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T22:51:36",
"content": "I just did this on my bug but I just hooked up with a serial cable via dos",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386508",
"author": "Bill",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T22:58:28",
"content": "Vdubs have a “Comfort Bus”? I’m guessing it’s some common bus for data around the car not related to the engine. How cool!Can the door locks be actuated via this bus? Time to do some googling.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "2351251",
"author": "Grant Logan",
"timestamp": "2015-01-14T18:58:07",
"content": "I can assure you it gets way way cooler…VWs have not only an engine control bus or a comfort bus but also an instrument cluster bus, lighting bus, transmission control bus, electric seat bus, radio bus, and much much more. It has two serial busses that connect all these things (K-lines) It’s part of what makes Volkswagen group cars so cool.",
"parent_id": "386508",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "386510",
"author": "John Laur",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T23:05:06",
"content": "Not to pick this hack to pieces but you actually can recode the car to do remote windows using vag-com and an obd-ii cable. It’s the 6th bit coded in module 46 (Central Convenience) — just go into that module, write down the existing value, add 64 to the number and recode the new value. Presto. Hold down the button on the remote and the windows do their thing.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386515",
"author": "Bill",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T23:11:14",
"content": "Anyone have a good reference to all the commands on the bus? From what I can gather, it also connects to the radio, and I bet cars with in-wheel buttons send commands to the radio. I don’t have in-wheel buttons to capture the commands, but now want to add them.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386519",
"author": "Mike Nathan",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T23:20:07",
"content": "@John,Having owned a 4th gen GTI, I am aware that Vag-Com can do this sort of thing, but unless Ross-Tech has changed their business model, it’s at least $200 to get your foot in the door with that software.I recently saw a dos-based application that purportedly does this all for free as well, but I don’t have the GTI any longer, so I have no need to investigate it.Besides, there’s something to be said for banging it out yourself, right?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386542",
"author": "Taylor Alexander",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T00:07:03",
"content": "I also went the cable route. You can buy a generic Vagcom cable on ebay for $15. They aren’t as good, but they work with VCDS Lite, which is $100. Or free if the demo mode allows recoding, I forget.But when I did this with my Audi I just used my friend’s actual VAG COM cable that he had.Still, neat hack nonetheless! I’m sure he learned a lot!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386561",
"author": "Johnny D",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T01:04:04",
"content": "VDS Pro is the tool to code your car to have automated windows. This is a serial based tool, and before today, I didn’t know it was possible via VAG-COM/VCDS.Just a heads up.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386562",
"author": "AlanKilian",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T01:09:00",
"content": "I wrote a little presentation on how I decoded the MINI Cooper CAN bus protocol.You can see it here:bobodyne dot com/web-docs/robots/MINI/CAN/Presentation/index.htmlIt’s converted from a MS powerpoint, so it’s a little hideous for online viewing. Sorry about that.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386634",
"author": "Kyle",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T04:42:22",
"content": "I did this on my vee-dub too, but I used a vag-com. I bought the vag-com to do my own diagnostics on the car, the hacks were just a small benefit. Either way, mad props for figuring it out on your own. Now, if you figure out how to re-code your ecu, I will be very interested in a write up on that, it may finally make me cough up the cash for an arduino lol",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386669",
"author": "Lange",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T06:16:21",
"content": "I also have a golf and this option is standard long press key to open/close all windows.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386679",
"author": "Max",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T06:42:35",
"content": "Efficient way to achieve the stated goal? Hell no.Fun way to learn about the CAN bus and have some personal satisfaction when things in the real world obey your code? You betcha. Nice hack…But as it has been mentioned – I’ve got a Passat B4 and it does this window thing locally with it’s original key (not RF) in the lock; it did it remotely too when I had a RF alarm on it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386694",
"author": "elektrophreak",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T06:53:34",
"content": "thanks for this hack, and Igor’s for his work. impressive stuff!it would be great if someone could point us to the VW’s CAN messaging protocol and how to decode particular messages just like Igor did with the RPM.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386717",
"author": "Olivier",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T07:47:38",
"content": "I love comments like: “why hacking the car and having fun, while you can do the same by spending $1000+?”Anyway, this hack is very nice.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386789",
"author": "bhtooefr",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T10:24:13",
"content": "Well, hacking it with VDS-Pro was still hacking it, when that hack was discovered – it was just changing bits in the EEPROM of the central convenience module, rather than hijacking the CAN bus.Also, as for VAG-COM/VCDS… sure, it’s a little expensive, but it’s a useful tool to have when working on these cars – if you want to know anything about the status of anything in the car, it’ll give it to you (which is really, really nice when troubleshooting something), it’ll let you adapt some settings (want a 24 hour clock? log into the instrument cluster and change it to UK coding – and that’s just one of many examples), and some maintenance requires it. That said, I was under the belief that the long coding for the CCM didn’t have the bits for this.(Of course, I’ve got a 99.5 Golf with crank windows, so this hack won’t do anything for me – and, I believe the CAN bus is far, far more limited on 99.5s, so the CCM ROM hack would be the only way that would work even if I had power windows.)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386797",
"author": "xorpunk",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T10:45:22",
"content": "All manufacturers put this in the BCM ASIC. I’ve always been interested in the computers, and also the security for a while.You can completely change the fob and key authentication by changing a seed number in a SPI or bit-banged ASIC interface on the BCM. I’ve demonstrated this both on a 2011 RX8 and a 98 Prelude.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386799",
"author": "Igor",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T10:53:58",
"content": "Hi,I know that you can do this with the VAG COM or similar softs. This has only been an example what you can get hacking the CAN bus of the car.I mean, the objetive is connect to the Traction one and get wheel speeds,yaw, throttle, etc.You can add a cool lcd, SD, GPS, etc and create your own automotive ECU with adquisition features and some extras (shift lights or beeps, gear indicator, etc). For example =>http://real2electronics.blogspot.com/2009/09/can-bus-display.htmlAfter decode the messages, it’s only your imagination to create extras!!cheers!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386820",
"author": "Bill",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T11:42:32",
"content": "The generic VAGCOM/VCDS cables that work with the free version of the software don’t support the newer cars with CAN bus. Don’t let the OBDII connector fool you, OBDII is actually FOUR different hardware protocols that use the same connector and high level protocols.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386836",
"author": "Texas Toast",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T12:35:56",
"content": "This method (among others) has already been thoroughly explored and documented on the ‘net and various Vdub forums. You can build your own VAG-COM equivalent if you really want to, but if you ask me, for the work involved, sometimes it’s more cost effective to just buy one. It all depends on what you think your time is worth.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386845",
"author": "Mike",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T13:02:32",
"content": "I’ve seen a few cool CAN bus hacks, but never one that lock/unlocks doors. Is there something special about these as far as protection or something? I’d love to make my next keypad plug’n’play.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386846",
"author": "Igor",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T13:09:59",
"content": "Hi Mike,I have decoded the message to open/close all the doors (which is sent when you open/close with the remote or the driver console door).Let’s me try again, but if I’m not wrong I was able to open/close replicating this message.;)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386915",
"author": "willis7575",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T16:11:53",
"content": "Very cool, but as others have pointed out, potentially unnecessary. This functionality can’t be coded in VAG-COM as suggested by others on the fourth generation cars. This is only available on the mkV & mk6 cars. However, some clever people on the tdiclub.com forums (I believe) figured out how to enable this on certain mk4 comfort control modules by directly manipulating bits with DOS-based VDS-Pro. For years prior to this, companies sold microcontroller-based add-on modules to provide this functionality by monitoring the door lock actuators. Thereafter, companies have come up with single-use “bit flippers” that plug into the ODB port and do the hack automatically.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386965",
"author": "Roman Dulgarov",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T17:59:12",
"content": "Awesome, and just in time for my personal/related project for a TDi Jetta. Need to extract fuel flow rate information which is very easy as a mechanical pump already reports injection quantity per stroke. Just need to dust off this PIC24 and get things going.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387015",
"author": "Santos",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T20:30:56",
"content": "Thats cool. I picked up an alientech chiphttp://www.alientech.net/a few years ago to accomplish the same thing on my 99.5 jetta.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387026",
"author": "bhtooefr",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T20:55:35",
"content": "Bill: The Mk4 cars have a K-Line to CAN gateway, and the cheap cables usually work fine on them. (There can be timing issues on certain control modules, when using a USB to serial, but they do work). So, it’s only the Mk5 and newer cars where you need a VCDS cable that supports CAN.Roman: There’s already a fuel consumption pulse line off of the ECU, no CAN bus needed, and I believe MPGduino can work with that. Or, I’ve got a hacked ROM that’ll allow a 1999 Passat cluster to work in a 99.5 Golf/Jetta TDI, with all the fuel consumption stuff… just haven’t gotten around to adding the wiring. (A similar hack can be done by flashing part of the contents of a 2000-2002 Jetta/Golf TDI’s ROM to a 2000-2002 Passat’s ROM, or a 2003 Jetta/Golf TDI’s ROM to a 2003 or so Passat’s ROM, or so on.)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387032",
"author": "Jon",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T21:18:19",
"content": "Need some nissan sentra 06 info. Also – question – can other Car Companies EVER be able to be programmed in different cars?? (I have toyota and ford fobs laying around and only my nissan left)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1023169",
"author": "Levi",
"timestamp": "2013-07-05T18:29:57",
"content": "HelloI have a Golf IV from 2001 without electric windows but with central lock.I bought 2 motors (from golfIV) for the front windows, but there is no central unit of the confort module in my car.I want to able to:-controled each motor from the driver side, and controled the passenger side motor by the passenger side-windows go up when remote control lock button is long pressedEach motors has the CAN wire but when I tried to connect these wires the motors stop working.I have an Arduino and i build CAN bus from these site:http://www.seeedstudio.com/wiki/CAN-BUS_ShieldCan you help me with an arduino soft to read the datas from the CAN bus?Can you send me the codes(message) for windows up, down, passenger side windows up,down.Thank You!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "2531328",
"author": "cb4697cb",
"timestamp": "2015-04-17T17:45:07",
"content": "Hi, Can you contact me about another CAN idea/project- Very impressed with your work- Thanks Charlie",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "2943963",
"author": "Upside down",
"timestamp": "2016-03-04T23:20:29",
"content": "Alot of vag cars have the ability to open close windows and electric sunroof, they were just coded not to utilise the feature due to different country specs and/or laws, i.e in africa or Jamaica not too sure which, where there are so many cars stolen while in use (hijacked) there is a auto lock feature when you exceed a certain speed, this feature is available on all vag cars (with central locking) again its the coding of the unit, the windows etc all depends on which central convenience module was installed in the factory, as some simply do not support the protocol, i use vcds and other vag tools, and for prople who say roms etc, its actually the eeprom, the eeprom stores the codings etc, with ecu and speedo the eeprom holds the mileage, immo details etc, the engine maps works from the flash memory, both can be edited with various levels of ease/difficulty but they are 2 different types of memory, basically flash is read only, eeprom is read and write, only saying this for the people who dont know",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "3175227",
"author": "vox",
"timestamp": "2016-08-31T12:30:20",
"content": "Igor missed a trick I’m trying to solve. Most VWs already have the remote windows roll up/down feature which just requires a bit set with vcds as others said. However, it doesn’t work the way I want. Closing all the windows and an open sunroof needs a 15 second hold on the keyfob which will run down the keyfob battery a lot quicker. What I want is one normal click on the key fob lock button closes any open window as I leave the car, with an overide disable for pets and kids left inside the car. To do that you need to listen and discover the CAN codes for door locking then send the code for rollup windows either one data word sent or maybe it needs repeating for the 15 seconds it takes?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,204.184684
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/26/the-silicon-ic-50th-anniversary/
|
The Silicon IC 50th Anniversary
|
Kevin Dady
|
[
"News"
] |
[
"Robert Noyce",
"Silicon IC"
] |
Today marks the
50
th
anniversary of the first silicon integrated circuit patent.
We should not have to explain how important the integrated circuit to this crowd, but it is the biggest thing in electronics since sliced bread.
[Robert Noyce] received the landmark patent on April 25
th
1961, and went on to found a little known company you might of heard of (along with [Gordon Moore]), Intel Corporation. He was not the first to invent the IC, that privilege goes to [Jack Kilby] of Texas Instruments, though that design was using a germanium wafer. Silicon has many advantages over previous technology and has become the main technology of IC’s even 50 years later fueling the electronics, computer and mobile industries.
Check out the little article above, and also be sure to check out this
video on IC construction
we posted about a few months ago from the other company [Robert Noyce] help co-found, Fairchild Semiconductor.
| 13
| 13
|
[
{
"comment_id": "386473",
"author": "John W",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T21:39:32",
"content": "Might HAVE heard of. Yeesh.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386483",
"author": "Ross",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T21:46:16",
"content": "anyone care to venture a guess what the IC’s in the picture are?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386486",
"author": "matt",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T21:57:32",
"content": "that video has been in my tabs since it was first posted, still not watched. its there with the wave coupling D:",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386487",
"author": "macw",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T22:01:51",
"content": "Click on the first link and look at the picture of that SMD. Is that a, uh, standard soldering technique?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386491",
"author": "Jeff Epler",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T22:08:16",
"content": "This pagehttp://home.mira.net/~gnb/elec/ic.htmlexplains that the device on the left is a “bistable RS (Reset/Set) Flip-Flop constructed using four NPN bipolar transistors”. It shows a labeled diagram and an equivalent circuit that should be understandable to anyone familiar with basic transistor circuits.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386497",
"author": "daqq",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T22:30:03",
"content": "@Ross: If you mean the one here on hackaday, the circular one, challenge accepted :-) . After some guessing, assuming, simulating and reverse engineering I’ve come up with this schematic:http://img848.imageshack.us/i/chipreverseengineered.png/It’s an RTL flip flop! It even works in the simulation… kinda…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386525",
"author": "Aaron",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T23:30:53",
"content": "Looks to me like a perfectly reasonable way of tying unused pins to ground, macw — note that each solder bridge has a pin connected to a trace, at least one of which enters a via I’m guessing goes to a ground plane on the other side of the board.Or something like that, anyway.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386545",
"author": "localroger",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T00:13:04",
"content": "I hate to break it to the author of the short article but the IC did not mark the “birth of the computing industry.” There had been a computing industry around for nearly 20 years by then. Sure, the computers they were making were slow, filled a whole room, took kilowatts of power, and were so expensive only a government or multinational corporation could afford one, but they did exist. The IC was only one of several breakpoints, some before and some after the IC, which suddenly advanced the art.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386615",
"author": "bothersaidpooh",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T03:37:31",
"content": "Interesting to note that around the same time, tunnel (aka Esaki) diodes were just getting interesting.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386700",
"author": "Max",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T07:17:08",
"content": "I honestly find it highly amusing that inventors of “landmark” technical stuff are so highly popularized and proudly touted. All history has shown is that technical progress always depended on the current state of the art, not at all on the actual person.Had the original inventor never exist, someone would still have come up with the exact same invention roughly 60 seconds later. Remember the good old Bell telephone…? Less than 24 hours.Same with the dynamo, the aeroplane, the jet engine, the TV and so an. Who invented them pretty much depends on what nation you ask – and they are all right, in a way. Multiple people did, around the same time.…but I digress; sorry, one of my pet peeves. Nice nostalgic moment though!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386723",
"author": "Olivier",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T07:54:44",
"content": "@Max: it’s called redundancy. In case the original author dies right before giving his invention to the world, there’s still someone else who has the same idea.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386750",
"author": "Mike of England",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T08:41:02",
"content": "Yes, hi all, thats a iCore 20 sextuplet processor with 1 terrabyte cache!I have a dozen of those in my scrap bin.:)Mike",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386766",
"author": "JediTalian",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T09:07:47",
"content": "if i have blinky nippLEDs in my artificially-enhanced jugs, that would be a Silicone IC, no?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,204.1171
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/26/hacking-lgs-netcast/
|
Hacking LG’s Netcast
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"home entertainment hacks"
] |
[
"jailbreak",
"lgtv",
"netcast",
"widgets"
] |
LG released a line of Internet-connected TVs in both the US and Europe that utilize Yahoo TV widgets to bring interactive content to the living room. While it sounds like a great idea in theory, users have been disappointed to find that LG has approved a measly 15 widgets since the TVs were released.
OpenLGTV.org.ru user [xeros] has started working on
a project that aims to enable more useful content as well as homebrew widgets
. The project is known as OpenLGTV BCM, and not only covers LG television sets, but all sets based on the Broadcom platform.
A ton of progress has been made already, as they have been able to install their own busybox environment as well as open the sets to accept more widgets via some clever signature spoofing. The ultimate goal for the project is to completely divorce the sets from the Yahoo platform and replace it with their own open marketplace.
It’s a great start, and we can’t wait to see what sort of progress they make as time goes on.
[Thanks, T]
| 13
| 11
|
[
{
"comment_id": "386475",
"author": "wifigod",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T21:40:46",
"content": "Is there a published list of all the Broadcom-based sets out there? I currently have an older model LG Plasma with no Netcast capabilities, but I’m looking to upgrade my TV sometime this year; haven’t narrowed it down to any particular brand yet and this information would be nice to have. :-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "460458",
"author": "Fox",
"timestamp": "2011-09-20T16:28:38",
"content": "The LG 50PZ550 50″ 3D has the best ratings there are for a TV and it has the lowest price around thats what im in the market for. about $775-850 with two glasses.",
"parent_id": "386475",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "386530",
"author": "Hirudinea",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T23:43:46",
"content": "@wifigod – I feel for ya wifi, I bought an LG wireless Blu Ray player but it has no Netflix in Canada and LG customer support is less than nothing, so I hope these nice LG hackers can help us.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "817414",
"author": "Marnie",
"timestamp": "2012-10-14T06:31:35",
"content": "I am in the same boat. Wireless BRplayer and a version of netcast with nothing but YouTube and the weather. Access to the internet would be nice or netflix. Have you found a “solution”.",
"parent_id": "386530",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "386716",
"author": "Max",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T07:46:41",
"content": "Wait, one more computing platform promptly locked tightly shut by the good little deal-forging, revenue-stream-hunting marketroids…? Cute…I find that with age I’m starting to have roughly zero tolerance for this sort of shenanigans.I wish all the lack to OpenLGTV and whoever works on this….",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386792",
"author": "xorpunk",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T10:38:22",
"content": "Sony and Samsung sets also use signing inside of compression wrappers on their sets.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386926",
"author": "Jakob",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T16:41:21",
"content": "Have too test this…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "438124",
"author": "ged",
"timestamp": "2011-08-19T21:26:19",
"content": "is there an update for my lg 42le4900 to give me full netcast (smarttv)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "525365",
"author": "X-TraxxX",
"timestamp": "2011-12-03T04:05:06",
"content": "Looks like the OpenLGTV team is looking for more support from North America. Testing,logging, and noting your experience will help with development and support for LG TV’s in Canada and the US. Its great to see they can give net access to TV’s with only a usb port available using a USB adapter.check out the site:http://openlgtv.org.ru/wiki/index.php/Main_Pageor the irc channel:http://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=openlgtv",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "584310",
"author": "xeros",
"timestamp": "2012-02-18T01:28:28",
"content": "Thanks :-)It’s worth to mention also other projects for previous LG TV generations: LGMOD and LGMOD S7 (and of course OpenLGTV (not BCM) which inspired all of us).Here’s the list of supported TV models for all projects:http://openlgtv.org.ru/wiki/index.php/AchievementsOpenLGTV BCM starts now (currently limited) support for newer models also (BCM35230 platform, AKA SmartTV) but it’s not going to be flashed there (anyone to break through bootloader security?) but only run chrooted from shell (still giving access to WebUI, additional services, additional tools, etc).",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1079819",
"author": "Brad",
"timestamp": "2013-10-20T17:27:10",
"content": "Great… crapware has made its way to the smart TV, they found another way to force us to watch their advertising and force apps on us that we really don’t want. Rooting phones have become big because of crapware, Rooting smart TV’s is about to begin.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "2119847",
"author": "Jsham",
"timestamp": "2014-11-11T07:14:59",
"content": "Anything we can do on Netcast Smart TV’s? LB58xx series.Thanksjsham",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "5186458",
"author": "Szebelledi mihály",
"timestamp": "2018-10-01T17:41:02",
"content": "Hii have lg ld750 and i want to do somehow a web browser",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,204.004934
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/26/extending-the-battery-life-of-led-dominoes/
|
Extending The Battery Life Of LED Dominoes
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"Microcontrollers"
] |
[
"555",
"battery life",
"cd4011",
"cr2032",
"dominoes",
"nand"
] |
[Fede.tft] wrote in to tell us about some work he’s been doing to
save battery life for LED dominoes
. He originally got the idea after reading
this post about the electronic gaming pieces
. That project was aimed at the 555 timer contest and therefore, used a 555 timer. [Fede.tft] calculates the battery life for the CR2302 battery in the 555 circuit at no more than about 80 days. That’s if you never use them and the LEDs are never illuminated. It makes sense to remove the batteries from the device when not in use, but a redesign to increase efficiency is definitely worth the effort.
This rendition does away with the 555 chip in favor of a CMOS chip. By building a circuit around four NAND gates of a CD4011 chip, the standby lifetime of the battery is calculated to increase to about 4.5 years. Not bad! Add to this the fact that replacing the 555 timer didn’t increase the component count, the price for the chip is similar to the 555, and you didn’t need to resort to a microcontroller. Yep, we like it.
| 6
| 6
|
[
{
"comment_id": "386421",
"author": "ibedazzled",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T19:31:12",
"content": "isn’t 555 a CMOS chip?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386425",
"author": "Joe White",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T19:37:39",
"content": "Isn’t the ampmeter showimng a 4ma drain, and not 4uA?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386429",
"author": "TheCapt",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T19:42:37",
"content": "Hmmm… I just wonder if you could maybe use a charged mat to play on? Or since you are connecting all of the pieces from the center of the play area, what if you had a puck piece that is the source (big battery, or plugged in, etc) and the other pieces have contacts that feed from that one.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386432",
"author": "TheCapt",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T19:45:54",
"content": "Sorry, guess I should have read the related article. I was thinking LED lit dots on dominoe pieces.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386437",
"author": "xtremegamter",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T19:54:07",
"content": "why not include induction charger system , that when in the box / socket they load when you plug the base in the wall.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386452",
"author": "Philippe",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T20:22:48",
"content": "@Joe WhiteIt’s 4 µA. The selected scale is 2 mA.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,204.238892
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/26/color-matching-powder-coat-paints/
|
Color-matching Powder Coat Paints
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"Misc Hacks"
] |
[
"color matching",
"harbor freight",
"paint",
"powder coat"
] |
[Zitt] is sharing some methods he’s honed for
color-matching powder coat paint
. He developed these techniques while
restoring a 1982 Star Trek coin-op machine
. The image above shows a paddle used for the game. The plate that houses the control was beat up, and he needed to repaint it but wanted to make sure it didn’t look out-of-place with the molded plastic that surrounds it.
He gets his powder paints from Harbor Freight, a favorite depot for hackable goods (like
drill motors
, or
metal carts
). Usually these paints would be applied by attracting them to the piece using electrostatic charges. [Zitt’s] not doing that, but applying them with a paint sprayer instead.
The first step is to match your color. He’s using
an electronic color matching device
which gives data to plug into a chart on the web for a color match. Once you’ve got a formula, mix up the powder coat, and then dissolve it into some Methyl Ethyl Ketone. This goes into the spray gun and is applied in an even coat. Before heading into an oven for curing, it’s important to wait for this coat to dry. [Zitt] observed some boiling MEK on a wet test piece that left an undesirable texture on the baked paint after curing. After running a few test pieces he picked the blend that was the best match and then painted all of his restored parts.
| 11
| 11
|
[
{
"comment_id": "386413",
"author": "thegreenpig",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T19:18:14",
"content": "Nice one! Not that easy to avoid metamerism in color matching.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386441",
"author": "triton",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T20:13:15",
"content": "really cool but not that do-able for us DIYers on a budget. I know I’m not the only one that cant afford a 275$ color matching device.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386442",
"author": "Isotope",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T20:13:57",
"content": "“…boiling MEK…” possibly one of the scarier things I’ve read on HAD.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386447",
"author": "Scott",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T20:17:29",
"content": "This is very well done and it looks like [Zitt] has really done some good work, but….Powder coating was originally designed as a solvent-free coating method. If you add back solvent, aren’t you just reinventing paint? I realize that there’s a final cure of the thermoplastic/thermoset pigment material, but baked-on enamel has been around for some time as well.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386449",
"author": "Scott",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T20:19:29",
"content": "This is very well done and it looks like [Zitt] has really done some good work, but….Powder coating was originally designed as a solvent-free coating method. If you add back solvent, aren’t you just reinventing paint? I realize that there’s a final cure of the thermoplastic/thermoset pigment material, but baked-on enamel has been around for some time as well.Also MEK is pretty flammable stuff – be careful, kids.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386461",
"author": "Jebson",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T21:00:00",
"content": "This doesn’t seem to be a sensible way of doing things.Firstly, as has been stated, if you’re adding solvent to the equation, why use powder? As I understand it, the high durability of powder coat is that there is no solvent to evaporate from the applied finish, therefore the finish is a continuous film, and not (as with solvent based paints) microscopically porous.Secondly, if you’re going to the trouble of getting exact data on the colour of the existing finish, why then use the closest RAL colour? The same outcome could be achieved with swatches.I really hate to knock a project, but in this case I would have thought the best course of action would be to head to the paint supplier with the part and ask them to mix you a litre of matching paint.On the other hand, this is HaD, so we should celebrate the method, not critise the outcome.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386524",
"author": "Zitt",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T23:28:22",
"content": "Fair points – however, I didn’t want to use Latex or any “paint supplier” method. It’s DIY which is the hole point of hackin’ right?I’m not familar with “baked on enamel”.And yes; while the Color cue can be expensive – it’s not required (note: I said it was optional)… you can mix it by eye if you want.Maybe I’m just missing something; but getting an inexpensive paint match the whole point? I wanted the robustness of the powdercoat with the ease of paint mixing latex.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386532",
"author": "blue carbuncle",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T23:47:37",
"content": "Hmmm, I agree with the rest of the above. Kudos for figuring out a great looking fix. It does seem to be reinventing the wheel a bit with the solvent addition but I’m no paint pro. I do know enough to echo the other sentiments of caution as well to anyone messing with paints and solvents. As a side note if ya do, warn your neighbors so they don’t think you are running a meth lab, like a crafter friend of mine ;)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386680",
"author": "tictac",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T06:43:05",
"content": "whoa, wait a minute. Why are we are we discussing just his painting method? I mean from the first freaking page this guy is hacking an oscilloscope because he doesn’t have a proper vector monitor. check out the link, it’s got a little bit of something for everyone.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386911",
"author": "Jebson",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T15:47:45",
"content": "Zitt – I’m pretty sure you’re sacrificing powder coat durability when applying it in wet form. Nothing to worry about, as powder isn’t as durable as some people hold it up to be, but I’ve found 2k paints to be tougher than powder coat.As always, the caveat is that preparation is everything.I’m loving your method of getting the script onto the workpiece – truly fantastic work (and something I’m certain most powder shops wouldn’t be able to replicate!).",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386934",
"author": "Jakob",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T16:45:44",
"content": "Oki nice thing…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,204.29274
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/26/small-pov-device-shows-off-some-big-features/
|
Small POV Device Shows Off Some Big Features
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"LED Hacks"
] |
[
"accelerometer",
"atmega48",
"Atmel",
"freescale",
"mma7660",
"POV"
] |
We’ve already added the components needed to build [Rucalgary’s]
tiny POV device
to our next parts order. The little device sets a new standard for tiny persistence of vision boards. Instead of relying on the user to find the best speed and timing for swinging the board around, [Rucalgary] used an accelerometer. This is the point at which we’d usually groan because of the cost of accelerometers. We’re still groaning but this time it’s for a different reason.
The accelerometer used here is a Freescale MMA7660. It’s an i2c device at a super low cost of less than $1.50. The reason we’re still groaning is that it comes in a DFN-10 package that is a bit harder to solder than SOIC, but if you’ve got patience and a good iron it can be done. An ATmega48 drives the device, with 8 LEDs and one button for input. On the back of the board there’s a holder for a CR2032 coin cell battery and a female SIL pin header for programming the device.
Check out the video demonstration embedded after the break. We love it that the message spells and aligns correct no matter which way the little board is waved.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDQs6d8fqks&w=470]
[Thanks Paul]
| 21
| 21
|
[
{
"comment_id": "386350",
"author": "pr0cj0n",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T17:08:06",
"content": "This is awesome, I just could not belive what I’ve seen for a moment! Great job!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386353",
"author": "Robot",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T17:10:41",
"content": "The accelerometer is a nice touch.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386358",
"author": "arekieh",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T17:18:09",
"content": "Any practical applications for this other then being awesome?I want to make one anyways lol.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386366",
"author": "addidis",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T17:31:14",
"content": "That is pretty impressive, Love how he is all excited about how complete and ready to be pilfered his sources are. I wonder if it sports an OS hardware logo. Id say it is worthy of it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386371",
"author": "MrX",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T17:42:30",
"content": "This is a really really nice build! Congratulations!One note though, I encourage you to practice your speech, it will be extremely useful in your future. Making more videos like this is one way to practice but having an interactive audience is way better. ;)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386377",
"author": "The Cageybee",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T17:46:33",
"content": "Props. Nice build.Also, some nice fast right hand action there….;)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386379",
"author": "Whatnot",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T17:49:21",
"content": "I hear people use DFN-10 chips upside down to make it manageable, like this:http://www.mikrocontroller.net/attachment/22067/IMGLTC.JPG",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386380",
"author": "Whatnot",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T17:50:27",
"content": "It’s called ‘the dead bug method’ btw",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386381",
"author": "MrX",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T17:51:42",
"content": "@The CageybeeThat just gave me an idea – what about building a VGA color pov display, like this one, to show your favorite p0rn while you wank?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386386",
"author": "Olivier",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T18:04:11",
"content": "Nice project. With a hot plate, I guess it should be fairly easy to solder the components.@MrX: I see accidents cuming.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386418",
"author": "spiritplumber",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T19:25:37",
"content": "Beautiful, I think using accelerometers for POV will become the new standard pretty quickly.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386424",
"author": "Kiwisaft",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T19:34:50",
"content": ">Also, some nice fast right hand action there….;)>Posted at 10:46 am on Apr 26th, 2011 by The Cageybeelol, gonna make it display *fap*",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386444",
"author": "Dielectric",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T20:14:44",
"content": "Cypress put a demo like this on their PSoC3 starter kit:http://www.cypress.com/?rID=38235Of course it costs more, but it can do other stuff too.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386581",
"author": "John",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T02:04:45",
"content": "We use a hotplate or a toaster oven for our MMA7660 breakout boards and it works really well. You want a temp-controlled hotplate, and set it at about 250. We have fiberglass plates on both sides of the hotplate so you don’t accidentally touch the heel of your hand against the plate while placing the chip. You can leave a little bead of solder on each pad with an iron, or use solder paste.Here’s our breakout board:http://www.madscientisthut.com/Shopping/agora.cgi?cart_id=8245479.32373&product=CNC%20/%20Robotic%20Sensors&user4=3%20Axis%20Sensor&xm=on",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386609",
"author": "bothersaidpooh",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T03:26:03",
"content": "Its pretty clever to use an accelerometer.How hard are I2C devices to use?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386647",
"author": "anfegori91",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T05:26:42",
"content": "This has been done years ago:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q15NaamAfMcIt’s a FreeRTOS based Casio F91W emulator. (Clock Calendar)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386655",
"author": "Drone",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T05:49:25",
"content": "Nice job. But HaD, c’mon – this has been sooo many times before! BTW I heard Dangerous Prototypes is developing a POV board with accelerometer. Is this the same project?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386726",
"author": "Max",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T08:01:38",
"content": "@anfegori91, Drone: +10.My first thought was “this is old as dirt” too.I have no problem with the device, I have a problem with it being presented as anything else than ancient. And I can think of several progressively less kindly ways to say that.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386837",
"author": "Texas Toast",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T12:38:21",
"content": "DFN is not hard to solder, just make sure you can access the traces that lead away from the IC with your iron. Simply with the solder down the trace to the IC – Make sure to use good flux. DFN devices can be done almost as easily as TSSOP devices.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386868",
"author": "Rogan Dawes",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T14:19:38",
"content": "I had a theory of combining a PS3 Move controller and an addressable strip of LED’s (perhaps via a shift register) to make a fully controlled light saber, with PoV capabilities.Using the research on the PS3 Move controller previously shown on HaD (about a month or so ago), you have access to a 3 axis accelerometer, as well as additional movement sensors. The Move has a full colour LED, i.e. there are 3 pins available at the end of the controller to drive a shift register. And of course, it has a pretty capable STM32 microprocessor to do all the heavy lifting and calculation related to angles and acceleration and movement.I think that could be a very awesome repurposing of a PS3 Move controller, indeed!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387387",
"author": "greg",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T13:51:57",
"content": "This would be awesome in a wheel, working at different rounds per minute!!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,204.350701
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/26/scart-hack-automatically-selects-tvs-av-mode/
|
SCART Hack Automatically Selects TV’s AV Mode
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"Xbox Hacks"
] |
[
"scart",
"xbmc",
"xbox"
] |
We’re sure there’s still a lot of folks using their original Xbox either for gaming or as an XBMC device. If you ever owned one yourself you’ll remember that you can’t turn it on with a remote control. If you have to get up and push a button on the front of the black box, as least
this hack will take care of tuning the television to the correct channel
. That is, if you are using a SCART adapter to connect it to your TV.
[Karl-Henrik] figured out that mapping a voltage to pin 8 of a SCART port tells a TV that the port is active, and allows it to select the proper aspect ratio. Check out
the Wikipedia SCART page
to see that pushing 5-8V is the signal for a 16:9 aspect ratio, and 9.5-12V translates to 4:3. So he added an audio jack to the back of his Xbox and a matching one on the plastic case of the adapter. Now just tap into the wires on the power connector for the hard drive inside, connecting them to the newly installed jack. There’s a 12V and a 5V line, just choose the one based on the aspect ratio you prefer. He uses a jumper wire with the appropriate plugs on each end to make the connection. Now the TV will automatically tune to the correct AV input when the Xbox powers up.
| 21
| 20
|
[
{
"comment_id": "386311",
"author": "Pup",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T15:52:23",
"content": "Slightly misleading title since this is selecting aspect ratio, not A/V mode.Incidentally, the only kind of SCART connections for games consoles that don’t do auto-switching are the A/V composite adaptors – the tiny SCART bricks with 3 RCA sockets. Why would anyone want to add functionality to one of these? Composite video is terrible. The only rational course of action would be an RGB or S-Video hack. Since SCART has pins for seperate RGB channels, it’s kind of asking for it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386316",
"author": "MrX",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T15:57:22",
"content": "There are some things I could check straight away:1) Is the GND of the HDD at same reference voltage as the TV? If it works, the HDD might be sharing the ground with the remaining XBOX circuitry which in place should be providing ground through the SCART connector.2) Are SCART signals TTL-compatible? The data lines might be, however I wouldn’t be so sure about pin 8. What if the pin driving circuitry on the TV doesn’t limit current?Other than this, GREAT HACK",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386327",
"author": "sd",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T16:15:55",
"content": "I love a SCART hack :)When I was putting together my MythTV system I found out my B&O telly echoes all the remote control signals down Pin8 (for use by their DVD players, etc). So I broke this pin out into a 3.5mm headphone jack and used LIRC Audio on the server to control MythTV with no extra IR detectors nor other hardware.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "954795",
"author": "lars",
"timestamp": "2013-02-05T16:22:24",
"content": "Hi sd,that is exatly what im planning to to. good news that it works! how do you connect your computer to the tv, rgb to scart ?Pin 8 also used for a rgb scart kabel ??greetsVGA \tSCART \tFunction1 \t15 \tRed2 \t11 \tGreen3 \t7 \tBlue6 \t13 \tRed ground7 \t9 \tGreen ground8 \t5 \tBlue ground9 \t8 \tAV Commutation (+5V)9 \t16 \tRGB Commutation10 \t17 \tComposite sync ground13 \t20(19) \tComposite syncA 75 Ohm resistor should connect pins 8 and 16 on the scart.http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/RGB_Scart",
"parent_id": "386327",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "386340",
"author": "0x4368726973",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T16:36:15",
"content": "My read of the above tells me this hack both tells the tv the input is live (and switches it to it) and tells the tv the aspect ratio.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386346",
"author": "Kevin",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T16:44:58",
"content": "Buy the RGB SCART cable instead, it has the wanted functionality and gives a huge boost in image quality.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386347",
"author": "brad",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T16:53:24",
"content": "i’ve been turning my xbox on with a remote for years. iirc, it was a $10 dongle that works with the xbox remote (also $10 used at gamestop).you can also use a wireless doorbell wired into the power switch. just make sure you have it set to a single ding. setting the doorbell to westminster chimes will wreak havoc on your xbox…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386374",
"author": "MrX",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T17:44:49",
"content": "@sd Wow, didn’t know about that :D I guess its time to dump signals from my TV :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386391",
"author": "rasz",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T18:19:03",
"content": "I dont understand this “hack”, I had a SVIDEO SCART cable that I modded to RGB SCART about 5 years ago. It has aspect ratio switching functionality out of the box swapping between 16:9 and 4:3 whenever I browse pictures on my XBMC.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386401",
"author": "JediTalian",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T18:42:13",
"content": "WTF is a SHART hack?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386409",
"author": "blue carbuncle",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T18:58:58",
"content": "@ brad same here. I always giggle a little and think of the Simpsons Senor Ding Dong and the poor saps who didn’t switch it to single ding before firing up the xbox for the first time lol. Great classic xbox hack tho :) and useful for other projects as well :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386411",
"author": "Decius",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T19:10:33",
"content": "People still use XBMC on the original outdated xbox?? I guess if you own a Standard Deff TV.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386489",
"author": "damurdock",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T22:06:57",
"content": "Tie the yellow wire from the controller input in the xbox to the power button, then to a button in the controller body that will pull it to ground when pressed. Hey presto, remote.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386590",
"author": "r3strict3d",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T02:32:28",
"content": "or you could of just bought a XIR easy kithttp://www.xir.us/xireasy.aspxFeatures of Easy Kit:– Turn ON and OFF Xbox with Xbox DVD Remote– No External Power Source Required",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386767",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T09:09:33",
"content": "A shart is when you think you’re gonna, but then you do something else instead or in addition to.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386771",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T09:16:49",
"content": "I still love my modded xbox.It plays the emulators well.I picked one up only about a year or two ago and proceeded to hard mod it with a bigger hard drive.The rest of the hacks are too well known to post about, but include:Removing the metal from the side vents and removing the case fins blocking the fan itelf.Replacing the green/red LEDs with blue/red LEDsI also internally installed the receiver from a logitech wireless xbox controller.Hacking an old xbox is fun, cheap and EASY, because the work has already been done years ago.You merely have to look up all the hacks and follow the instructions.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388251",
"author": "nubie",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T03:13:14",
"content": "@ Decius, also people are still starving in Africa, and food has been invented?Seriously, some people are dead broke, I have lived under the poverty level for 10 years, and I repair game consoles every chance I get (trying to start a business) and use XBMC on the original Xbox to watch my favorite movies and shows.I have had 3 HDTV’s, more if you count LCD’s that can take HDMI. I got them free or for a song, and sold them to pay the bills. HD is nice, but it is nicer to eat and have a roof. Take the attitude somewhere else.Excellent hack, I envy those in Australia/Europe/UK that have had much higher quality TV’s for decades. In the US the best I can hope for is Y Pr Pb on a TV built in the last 15 years. Usually S-Video is the best offered. I had a Softmod with VGA output for a while, but then I went to Xecuter flashed to the TSOP and haven’t looked into VGA again. I have a 360, and those do native VGA (kinda pointless because the media player is very poor, and I have a HDMI->DVI cable for my PC monitor, which is native 1280×720 pixels, a rare one that really is that many pixels.)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388457",
"author": "kendon",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T15:02:19",
"content": "i have been using this:http://www.xbox-scene.com/articles/power-button-controller.php(power button in wired controller) for years with my xbox, together with the RGB cable which automatically switched all my tvs (besides giving latitudes of better video quality). would still use it today if it wasn’t for hd, now using XBMC on my htpc :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388645",
"author": "Decius",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T01:13:26",
"content": "@nubie Cool story bro, I had no attitude when I wrote what I posted. Before you vent how poor you are, I really don’t care. It’s the internet. I still have the original Xbox as well, I’m not even 20 years old yet and working :) Thanks for the life update! (I feel better now). PS. Find a better job (aka- career)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390062",
"author": "K.J.",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T19:48:30",
"content": "I too, still use xbmc on the original xbox. I’ve also, had the doorbell hack for years (not this one though).For those saying, “what about HD?” The xbox has an optional component cable and spdif audio breakout box. It can handle 720p (as long as you don’t use mp4, mkv, or something else very processor intesive) no problem as well as 5.1 surround.Dedicated boxes (like the Boxee) are just now starting to catch up to XBMC on the original xbox.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390102",
"author": "kendon",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T21:18:44",
"content": "@K.J.“It can handle 720p (as long as you don’t use mp4, mkv…”there’s your problem!;)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,204.562218
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/26/9v-ir-tester/
|
9v IR Tester
|
Kevin Dady
|
[
"classic hacks"
] |
[
"ir tester"
] |
Whenever you are working with infrared, you sometimes need to see it, and thats kind of hard. Most people would jump up and say “camera”, but that is not always the best solution. For instance my phone camera is so filtered its near useless for IR, and my DSLR will only take a full blast source and present a dim glow. Wanting something a bit easier [Candymanproducitons] whipped up a little
IR tester that fits on top of a standard rectangle 9V battery
.
A simple circuit containing nothing more than a LED, resistor, and a IR photo-transistor was assembled on some perforated circuit board, then mounted on top of a battery clip with some epoxy. The end result is a compact and robust tool that will be very handy in the shop, though we think a little spot for your scope probe would be super.
9 volt batteries, with their internal design and locking / polarized terminals are usually a mainstay of electronic tinkerers, and often pop up in cool and compact projects like my
lm386 amp in a battery shell
from last year. So what can you do with them?
| 29
| 29
|
[
{
"comment_id": "386269",
"author": "Hitek146",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T14:41:54",
"content": "Wow. I’ve never done this before, but this is just too much…“its near useless” = “it’s near useless”“a LED” = “an LED”“a IR” = “an IR”“rectangle 9V” = “rectangular 9V”Cool project, though. I did something similar back in ’95 to detect the presence of light on fiber optic cables feeding CATV nodes. This is a very useful tool in the proper situation. Well done…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386274",
"author": "Dave",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T14:54:44",
"content": "@Hitek146, actually “a LED” is correct.Good thing this is the first time you’re doing it.Let’s hope it’s also the last time.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386299",
"author": "Till",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T15:25:45",
"content": "Nice simple tool but there are also little plastic cards called “IR Detection Cards” glowing green if hit by an IR-source.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386301",
"author": "Cricri",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T15:26:00",
"content": "“a LED” = “an LED”Erm, that’s just you then. And if you’re going to be anal, it should be a parallelepipedic 9V battery and not a rectangular one.Now that we’ve pointlessly, yet pedantically, argued semantics, my opinion: I’m not into IR myself, but neato anyway. Could it be done with a AA clip since 9V batteries are not cheap?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386307",
"author": "don't care",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T15:46:16",
"content": "If you’re going to be shallow and pedantic, be correct.LED has an “ell” sound at the beginning.Otherwise, cool project.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386319",
"author": "Bacchus",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T16:01:24",
"content": "Or just use the rubbish camera on your phone – They always seem to work.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386320",
"author": "krylenko",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T16:03:00",
"content": "Actually, the choice of “a” vs. “an” is determined by the sound of the first syllable, not the actual letter.“LED” = “el ee dee” and since that begins with a vowel sound, “an LED” is correct.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386337",
"author": "CrashSerious",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T16:31:52",
"content": "Holy grammar police hijacking batman!Lets get back on topic here… This is a really handy hack.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386352",
"author": "K!P",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T17:10:16",
"content": "but led is short for Light Emitting Diode that would make a LED correct…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386356",
"author": "Elias",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T17:14:51",
"content": "But the abbreviation is Light Emitting Diode, so which one to use, the letters or the full version :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386368",
"author": "Smokingman",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T17:36:55",
"content": "Technically, LED is an initialization not an abbreviation because it’s not pronounceable.i.e.SCUBA = abbreviationLED = initialization",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386375",
"author": "alan",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T17:44:59",
"content": "I say it as L.E.D. (individual letters) so in normal conversation I would say ‘an’ L.E.D. because, obviously, this sounds correct. Saying “a L.E.D.” makes you sound like a 5 year old.However, I work for an electronics company where most people pronounce it “led” as in “Ted” or “bed”. In these cases, they say “a led” because the other way sounds stupid, obviously. (anled?).So I guess it depends how you pronounce LED.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386385",
"author": "Ren",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T18:02:19",
"content": "nice hack, but since a[n] LED can also be used as a photo-transistor, maybe…B^)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386392",
"author": "Olivier",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T18:19:10",
"content": "Ouch! 9V battery aren’t rectangular nor parallelepipedic, they have “rounded edges”. So, well, let’s say it’s a 9V battery with a weird shape.Oh, and for the LED, let’s write it in french : “une DEL”.@Bacchus: nope, the author has a crappy phone camera which filter IR.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386399",
"author": "NatureTM",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T18:32:39",
"content": "Beautifully simple. Nice hack.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386416",
"author": "Patrick Dent",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T19:23:02",
"content": "@Olivier So it’s a rounded-rectangular prism 9v battery?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386465",
"author": "James",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T21:24:45",
"content": "Not really a hack. And I’ve never met a phone camera that didn’t work, but it’s nice and simple and works, so thumbs up anyway.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386490",
"author": "sh0cked",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T22:07:17",
"content": "I have never met anyone who uses the separate letters L E D when spoken. Its usually led (like ted bed fed red). Whoever said it is not pronouncable doesnt speak english.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386502",
"author": "Alan Yates",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T22:40:36",
"content": "Nice simple and useful hack, I love 9 volt battery-topper projects for quick hacks.I use a solar cell and a piezo sounder myself, but that only works with modulated sources; fine for IR remote controls. This phototransistor based device can in principle detect CW IR sources and those modulated at high frequencies.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386526",
"author": "Hirudinea",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T23:33:15",
"content": "I don’t know the range of this thing, but refering to what Alan said, if you replace the LED (a, an, um, ah f–k it) with a piezo buzzer and hide it somewhere in a persons desk where they can’t see it but you can shine a remote control at this could be a fun little prank.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386541",
"author": "wernicke",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T23:58:59",
"content": "actually, SCUBA is an acronym (Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus). ‘Abbr.’ is an abbreviation.Nice project.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386617",
"author": "DarwinSurvivor",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T03:40:17",
"content": "@sh0cked And I have never (until now apparently) met anyone that DOESN’T pronounce each letter individually. I guess it all depends on where you live.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386654",
"author": "aad453",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T05:41:05",
"content": "If one were to replace the led with an ir diode, could this be used to “bounce” a remotes signal around a corner?Im guesing it would work but the ir emmiter might cause feedback from the beam reflecting around the room and coming back into the sensor. what do yall think?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386662",
"author": "Drone",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T06:01:14",
"content": "“…fits on top of a standard rectangle 9V battery.”Man, what planet are you from? One that presumably has mainly cylindrical 9V batteries?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386681",
"author": "D_",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T06:43:33",
"content": "I’m going to go to the local hardware store and ask them for a prismatic nine volt battery. That place is so old they just may drag out a battery of the strange kind that where used in the first transistor radios, or used in the old tube type portable radios. I do remember some of my older cousins using those tube radios.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386736",
"author": "vtl",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T08:09:33",
"content": "If youre working with IR you can get a cheapo Canon compact camera and remove the IR filter. Being able to see the actual IR light beam pattern and distance would be more useful than just this repeater thing.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386743",
"author": "Grovenstien",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T08:32:28",
"content": "9v batteries come in a myriad of different shapes and sizes, i think that this article refers to the PP9 type!Man i love to lick those little terminals until my tongue tickles.Also plug two PP9 together! KABLAMO!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387024",
"author": "Hitek146",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T20:47:20",
"content": "“@Hitek146, actually “a LED” is correct.Good thing this is the first time you’re doing it.Let’s hope it’s also the last time.”If by “doing it”, you’re referring to my pronunciation of L.E.D., then I have been “doing it” since the ’70s. Only younger generations say “lead”. I guess the DSLR referred to in the article should be pronounced “disler”???? :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387295",
"author": "rlachenal",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T09:20:39",
"content": "IR is also visible on your mobile-phone/video camera so you can also use that for detection.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,204.636839
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/26/papydoo-is-watching-you/
|
Papydoo Is Watching You!
|
Jason Komp
|
[
"LED Hacks",
"Microcontrollers"
] |
[
"led matrix",
"piezo sensor"
] |
Papydoo
spends most of its time sleeping, but if startled by vibration it will wake up and stare you down with a cold and unnerving robo-gaze like you have not seen before. Or it might just do something crazy like display a scrolling Space Invaders character marquee. That’s the thing with Papydoo, you just never know.
Vibration sensing is accomplished with a piezo element harvested from an old horn speaker that is simply sandwiched between the project enclosure and the surface it is sitting on. A MCP601 op-amp is used to amplify the weak potentials from the piezo element and feed them to the ADC of a Zilog Z8F083A microcontroller. When sufficient vibration is detected, the MCU wakes up and displays one of a number of different animations on the front panel 32X8 LED matrix. The various display modes can also be manually selected using a small button on the back of the enclosure.
Power consumption is reduced to 150uA while sleeping by only briefly waking the MCU once per second to check the current vibration level. Nearly all of this power draw can be attributed to the op-amp, and although there are much more efficient models available, sometimes the best choice is just the one you already have on hand in your parts bin. Regardless, the power consumption is low enough to run the device off of a set of AA batteries.
We could imagine that similar setup could be used for a number of different low-powered messaging applications that would only “wake up” when someone was near enough to read and interact with. Add a loud speaker and this might even make a good alarm to keep pesky coworkers out of your “cube”. What would you do with a Papydoo?
Thanks for the tip [Laurence]! If you happen to read this, we are dying to know: why “Papydoo”?
Short video after the break.
| 6
| 6
|
[
{
"comment_id": "386245",
"author": "gac",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T13:37:15",
"content": "Would make a great addition to Halloween decorations.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386408",
"author": "Stonehamian",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T18:52:59",
"content": "Greetings Hack-a-day,I’m the creator of this project.About the name, well, I’m from a mostly French speaking part of Canada. In French, “dad” is “papa”, and “daddy” is “papy”. I have 3 young daughters, and they often ask “What is Papy doing?” when I play with electronics in my shop. So I guess it became “Papy does [this]…” to “Papydoo”. It was a kind of a funny word that has stuck around in the house, while I was doing this project.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386433",
"author": "Robo",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T19:46:20",
"content": "Nice job! Looks very clean and professional, and the shifty eyes look very mischievous =)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386439",
"author": "Lupin",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T19:59:33",
"content": "Maybe add some filter glass so it isn’t too obvious that the box contains an LED matrix and electronics",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386443",
"author": "Brad",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T20:14:25",
"content": "I would think the filter would blend the pixels on some of the other animations (space invaders). That would (in my opinion) detract from the aesthetic of those graphics.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386445",
"author": "Brad",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T20:16:04",
"content": "Regarding the eye animations, I like the reflected version on the table with the flat portion at the top. Much more ominous “why are you messing with me” vibe.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,204.497407
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/26/vintage-am-radio-restoration/
|
Vintage AM Radio Restoration
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"classic hacks"
] |
[
"radio",
"recapping",
"restoration"
] |
Instructables user [knife141] enjoys restoring vintage electronics in his spare time, especially old radios. AM radios tend to pique his curiosity the most, and in this tutorial,
he discusses the restoration of an old radio from the early 1940s
.
While people would likely assume that the vacuum tubes in a radio this old are the source of poor performance, he has found that most units he repairs suffer from bad capacitors. He says that the old electrolytic, paper, and wax caps used in these radios were never meant to last more than a few decades, let alone 70 years.
He always starts the process off by discharging the caps and replacing the power cord, both as a safety measure. He was pretty sure the capacitors were bad in this radio, so he swapped all of them out, regardless of condition. All of the internal wiring was then checked over, and any damaged cables were replaced or covered with heat shrink tubing.
With that done, he powered on the radio and was happy to find that the distortion he previously experienced was completely eliminated. With the electronics taken care of, he tackled the radio’s asbestos insulation by encapsulating it with varnish. Attention was then turned to the exterior, where he cleaned and buffed the leather, refinished the face plate, and polished the dial’s cloudy glass.
While it’s not exactly a hack, we always like seeing vintage electronics given new life, and we’re always cool with saving these sorts of things from rotting in a landfill.
| 13
| 13
|
[
{
"comment_id": "386218",
"author": "Fallen",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T12:16:03",
"content": "Bad caps are my guess often. Cheaper to replace as well…So I usually just replace all the caps.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386221",
"author": "NoX",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T12:27:23",
"content": "mmm, I would say that actually it’s a hack! maybe not a complex one, but he improved its performance and thats the very definition of hacking :-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386223",
"author": "Aaron",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T12:36:13",
"content": "NoX: Seriously. I mean, Richard Feynman used to do exactly this sort of thing when he was a kid, so I don’t think it falls to us to decide how awesome it is or isn’t.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386224",
"author": "Aaron",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T12:40:46",
"content": "Recapping can rescue modern equipment, too, like the surround-sound receiver one of my less thoughtful and better-paid neighbors dumped on the side of the road. It was manufactured in 2002, and fell prey to the capacitor plague; all it took was opening it up to see that the all of the large filter caps had swollen up and tried to go ‘pop’.A couple of bucks and a bit of solder later, I’ve got a $150 stereo amp effectively for free. And the speakers he dumped with it aren’t bad, either! (I’d speak ill of him, if his foolishness hadn’t worked out to my benefit.)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386243",
"author": "nes",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T13:31:07",
"content": "No, don’t seal the asbestos in varnish. It’s probably made of asbestos and not plywood for a good reason and coating it in something which is not heatproof isn’t a good idea.If it’s left alone inside the case it won’t be shedding any fibres and will be fine.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386250",
"author": "tantris",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T13:46:04",
"content": "asbestos.yikes. that thought wouldn’t even have crossed my mind. thanks- i will hopefully remember that next time i come across some old white heat resistive insulator material. i would have thought it was something like mica and added it to my collection..",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386260",
"author": "Khordas",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T14:21:10",
"content": "As long as it isn’t a bad rectifier. You damn near need a gas mask when one of the old selenium rectifiers blows.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386314",
"author": "Daid",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T15:54:41",
"content": "@tantris: Asbestos looks more grayish then white. And asbestos in itself isn’t that harmful, when you stark breaking it and it might start to cause problems. But in low quantities the risk is very low.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386332",
"author": "asheets",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T16:25:20",
"content": "I would recommend installing an isolation transformer on the main line — these old sets tend to have a hot chassis or something similarly dangerous.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386382",
"author": "Ren",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T17:54:01",
"content": "@asheetsIt was mentioned that he changed the power cord.When I replace the power cord on old radios I use a polarized cord (with polarized plug) and attach the wide blade of the plug (the neutral side) to the chassis. Now if only people would wire up their outlets correctly!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386407",
"author": "LittlePig",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T18:48:25",
"content": "Back in the ’70s a typical sign of a lightning voltage spike hitting a TV that came in for repair was seeing those film caps popped out like a streamer at New Years Eve – the oil would vaporize and whooosh!I’m not a bit surprised those old capacitors are toast.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386415",
"author": "echodelta",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T19:22:15",
"content": "@ Aaron Never seem a SMPS in a stereo, or seen regular supplies fail like above.@ Ren I trust my life to 3 prong but not that mm of wider prong on those stupid plugs. If you want to do it right get rid of the Edison socket and everything non IEC. Exposed pins on insertion, how dumb. Wide blades were created for that dumb bulb socket. Have you heard the story of the farmer when REMC came to wire him up and forget to bring bulbs. When they returned he had screwed corncobs into the sockets to keep the juice from running out!The cord on many of those battery/AC sets had a resistor wire in the cord to drop the AC to the tube string of heaters. Replace it with a regular cord and poof!The asbestos should be removed now that its varnished and a piece of metal used instead to keep from heating case and marring the finish.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386742",
"author": "D_",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T08:28:34",
"content": "Correct this being a AC/DC portable, chance are the AV neutral is connect to the chassis. Even when plugged into properly wire receptacle, many aren’t, an isolation transformer is till a good idea when working with these radio. Stating the obvious an unknown problem could lead to a hot chassis. One can work without an isolation transformer, if they are aware how to work safely. In addition to an isolation transformer, a Variac transformer is good idea. To bring up the voltage slowly when powering an older radio for the first time in years. Personally I’d think it would be fun to build battery packs to operate this glow in the dark radio portable.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,204.743059
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/26/a-chicken-tractor-to-call-home/
|
A Chicken Tractor To Call Home
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"home hacks"
] |
[
"chicken",
"coop",
"tractor"
] |
[Dino] didn’t want to keep the baby chickens cooped up when he was at work, but he didn’t want them to escape, or become a juicy treat, either. His solution was to
build this chicken tractor
. It’s a complete chicken ecosystem with wheels, kind of like a double-wide trailer for our feathered friends. On one end is a small coop that contains food, water, and an incandescent light bulb for heat. The other end is a chicken-wire box that lets the young birds stretch their legs and get some fresh air.
It’s easy to see the wheels which flip down when [Dino] needs to move the contraption. Like we said, he puts it out when he goes to work, selecting different parts of the yard so that the grass gets evenly fertilized. It’s a nice solution if you don’t have enough area to dedicate to
an automated chicken coop
.
We’ve embedded [Dino’s] video after the break. He covers the beginning and end of the build, and fills the middle of the video with a time-lapse recording of the construction process.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbRTR24PD-Y&w=470]
| 15
| 15
|
[
{
"comment_id": "386225",
"author": "Sterling",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T12:43:57",
"content": "I am beginning to think that HaD needs to put a ‘chicken hacks’ section on the right side of the page.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386227",
"author": "MrX",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T12:47:32",
"content": "I did the same with my guinea pig, I didn’t even need to mow the lawn the funny rat always toke care of that :P Too bad a random dog came over one day and punched a hole through the fencing.The fencing on the pictures don’t seem too hard either, I would reinforce it to be safe from other animals.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386236",
"author": "mightyslick",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T13:05:31",
"content": "mobile coops are nothing new. Often times a large coop is built on a trailer. The farmer will move to disired location, let them out for the day and when they come in to roost lock them up for the night. The next day move the coop with his tractor to new location. I applaud him for scaling the mobile coop down to “chick size”",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386237",
"author": "nes",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T13:06:08",
"content": "How cold must it get there for the chickens to need heating? Ours have done just fine down to -15C. They squeeze up close together to keep warm when roosting in the coop.Also: evenlyfertilizedutterly destroyed.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386342",
"author": "Dino",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T16:40:23",
"content": "@MrX, you’re right, the fencing is light weight, but it’s only outside during the day. At night, they come in the garage. I’ll be building them a new full sized chicken coop soon with much stronger wire.@ nes, it’s not that cold here, but when I first got them, they were very small with only their first pin feathers so they needed to keep warm. They don’t really need the light for heat now, just to light up the interior during the day. They seem to like it. :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386365",
"author": "Birdbrain",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T17:24:43",
"content": "Seriously, of all the mobile coops out there, THIS is the one you choose to post? Pick one that doesn’t look like it was banged together by a four year old.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386420",
"author": "Rachel",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T19:29:21",
"content": "I would put some barbed wire on the outside to discourage predators, or maybe even electrified wire. I’ve had chickens stolen during the day, especially with wide mesh chicken wire. They get pulled right through.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386427",
"author": "echodelta",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T19:41:57",
"content": "I keep asking, when they ban bulbs how are we going to keep our baby chicks warm? Heating pads now have a 2 hour timer, to make them idiot proof.Definitely, chicken hacks are cool. Even rubber ones.As a certified storm spotter I an worried about the lack of tie-down straps on that poultry perambulator. It’s tornado season. Oops they just put up a watch for our area.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386435",
"author": "Headbonk",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T19:50:24",
"content": "@Rachel – where do you live & what predators? We let our hens run free in the yard during the day. I wonder if we should keep them more protected.@echodelta – There used to be a product for people who keep reptiles that was basically an electric warm brick. If you need an alternative to bulbs you might look for one of those.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386468",
"author": "spag",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T21:32:42",
"content": "I’ve heard some companies are starting to sell incandescent bulbs as “heating devices” instead of as light sources. Might be cheaper than the warm brick (although the warm brick would be better to leave on at night – I can’t imagine chickens would sleep well with lights on).… also, am I the only one that read “chicken reactor”? Too much Half-Life 2 I guess :/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386501",
"author": "Dino",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T22:38:49",
"content": "@ birdbrain. You should build one, document it and send it to HaD. Tell em was built by a seven year old. lol",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386564",
"author": "Rachel",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T01:20:51",
"content": "@HeadbonkI’m in Minnesota, and the main predators are raccoons, coyotes, and big dogs. I used to let them run free too, but if I was ever late in locking them up, one would go missing. One was even taken in the middle of the day by a coyote.In my experience, chicks sleep fine with the light on. They always huddle in a pile right below it.I’m a bit concerned by the small size of the pen. My free range chickens were all over the place, and hated being confined. They liked to fly around a bit too.Is the bottom covered in wire too? I’ve known predators to sneak underneath coops to get to the chickens, which is why I fully enclosed mine.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386571",
"author": "Dino",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T01:34:57",
"content": "@ Rachel… the bottom is open. This only a temporary enclosure. As I mentioned, I’ll be building them a much larger area with a full coop soon. They’ll have roosts and room to fly around. I don’t think I’ll free range them here due to Hawks. The local folks tell me they’ll get swooped!I’ll most likely build a bigger tractor this summer that could house two or three at a time so that they can have some time outside the coop.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "508850",
"author": "DaveO",
"timestamp": "2011-11-15T05:00:30",
"content": "Move the coop, then scoop the poop!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "634775",
"author": "Mary",
"timestamp": "2012-04-21T23:37:25",
"content": "I loved your flip down wheel idea and put them on my chicken tractor this afternoon. Especially genius was how simple and inexpensive, yet practical they are. Thanks for sharing!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,204.803536
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/25/hackaday-links-april-25-2011/
|
Hackaday Links: April 25, 2011
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"Hackaday links"
] |
[] |
iPad2 combination case
[Jasn] wasn’t happy with Apple’s version of the iPad2 case, but an InCase Magazine Jacket didn’t meet his needs either. He broke the two apart and combined pieces of each to achieve
his perfect tablet enclosure
.
MIDI power tools
Enjoy the sounds of working in the shop thanks to [ArcAttack’s]
MIDI controlled power tool performance
. Our favorite part’s the outlet box stuffed with cords. [Thanks Ross]
Labeling cables
When we saw [László’s] tip about labeling cables we though “duh, we’ve been doing that for years”. But then we realized to this technique might be new to some folks. So haters gonna hate, but get out some tape and a marker to
make your cord mess a bit more tidy
.
The folks that run Facebook set out to build their own server farms in order to save money on both materials and electricity. They’ve open sourced the hardware and there’s a bunch of
information about the project
that we found interesting. [Thanks Wouter]
Manual mute ‘key’ for your netbook
[Randi] wanted a way to ensure he wouldn’t have startup sounds played in class when he booted up his netbook. He came up with this ‘mute key’ that is made from a ground-down headphone plug. He glued a piece of ribbon to it so that it can be removed again. The computer thinks there’s headphone plugged in so no sound plays through the speakers. Since it’s been ground down it’s extra-low-profile, and it’s as cheap as your last broken set of headphones. No link here, [Randi] just emailed us some pictures.
| 45
| 45
|
[
{
"comment_id": "385998",
"author": "FaultyWarrior",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T00:20:59",
"content": "László’s wiring label method works….unless you’ve got nearly cables in a small space. I used this method when I built the first version of my car’s custom wiring harness, and it helps quite a lot, but it’s still a massive pain to work with when you’ve got that many wires. The pic below shows what I mean…http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/216319_10150176927714618_827794617_6369474_7807913_n.jpg",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385999",
"author": "needles",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T00:22:03",
"content": "I like the mute key idea, pretty clever. Not cool walking into class late, sitting down, and having the windows log in sounds blare from your laptop.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386000",
"author": "Dave",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T00:33:02",
"content": "I had a similar headphone hack in college. I used a headphone splitter (Y) and accomplished the same thing. It was a similarly small hack, but not as low-profile.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386008",
"author": "22gunsonfire",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T00:42:50",
"content": "Headphone jack. Pure genius. Perfect example of K.I.S.S.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386011",
"author": "Aaron",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T00:48:33",
"content": "Another good trick for labeling cables, if you happen to have all of good eyes, very fine pens, and cable ties (zip ties, &c.), is to just write straight on those. It doesn’t take up a lot of space, and you don’t get the finger-sticky cable mung or eventual brittle disintegration in which most paper labels and tapes seem to result. There’s also the bonus that, unlike paper labels and tapes, you can actually use cable ties to tie the cables you’re labeling. (They also make cable ties with little flags specifically for labeling, but those cost extra and I don’t seem to see them around very often.)The netbook mute plug is unmitigatedly awesome. Sure you can just use the Fn-whatever mute combo, but not while the thing’s starting up, and this way you have an absolutely unambiguous indication of whether or not you’re about to fetch a glare from your instructor and embarrass yourself in front of your peers.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386012",
"author": "Spork",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T00:52:02",
"content": "Open compute project is AMAZING. I love data center topology and it would be wonderful to see more businesses hosting their own web server/data on site. — That said, it would also be great for someone like Google or Amazon to move in and start using these in mass quantities. Reducing cost and increasing performance is a plus for consumers as well.@FaultyWarriorHave you found a better way to organize tons of cables? It does seem like it would be crazy with that many labels.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386014",
"author": "Whatnot",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T00:53:51",
"content": "I find using a bit of adhesive vinyl works well for me as labels, since it’s pretty resistant to going brittle or having it fall apart like with paper-like tape and the glue doesn’t become a mess like with ducttape for instance.Add a waterproof (dvd-)marker and bob’s your uncle.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386015",
"author": "Spork",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T00:54:01",
"content": "@22gunsonfire and AaronMost business laptops have hardware mute buttons/switches to prevent this mishap. I wish all manufacturers would adopt this design.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386022",
"author": "therian",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T01:18:52",
"content": "dont short circuit audio it might damage it by overloading, use at least 16-60 ohm resistor",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386027",
"author": "Thomas",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T01:31:12",
"content": "I used to use a cut-off headphone jack too (which is KISS)… until I learned how to go to Control Panel -> Sounds -> Sound Scheme: No Sounds",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386028",
"author": "Wesley M. Pennock",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T01:32:19",
"content": "If you are interested in Open then check out p2pu.org. It is a site for open courses among users.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386029",
"author": "Anonymous",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T01:32:29",
"content": "@therian: I don’t think he’s short circuiting anything; plugging in the headphone jack is merely convincing the computer that it shouldn’t play audio through the built-in speakers.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386032",
"author": "Alex",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T01:37:52",
"content": "@therian: Shortened, not shorted.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386039",
"author": "Craig",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T02:04:31",
"content": "Agreed, that headphone plug is sensational. I might have to look at getting one on my keyring.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386049",
"author": "therian",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T02:36:41",
"content": "@AnomynousI inretrteped ” Since it’s been gnourd down ” as gnoudring output@Alex I wold like HAD to have message ‘edit’ option toop.s whoever dircovess the inrerptetation of these sanigys will gain the power to seize cotmucimanion O_O",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386055",
"author": "andar_b",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T03:04:03",
"content": "@therianLOL @ “gnourd” & “gnoudring” ROFL",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386057",
"author": "qn4",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T03:09:16",
"content": "Huh. I’ve been doing the same headphone-plug thing for years with short inline-volume adapters from Radioshack and DealExtreme (sku 53960).On the other hand, I disable startup & shutdown sounds on every Windows installation I perform on my computers, but use Linux (configured similarly as necessary) 99% of the time anyways.…the occasional embedded ‘auto-play’ Youtube videos are the real reason I always have one on hand, actually.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386064",
"author": "ejonesss",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T03:27:08",
"content": "unless your netbook is like some newer macs where they play the speaker despite what is connected to the sound port.that is to protect you from corrupting the firmware and bricking the device when updating the firmware.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386067",
"author": "Alchemyguy",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T03:34:55",
"content": "On cable marking; in my old life as a communication electrician we would use wrap around style labels, similar to these:http://www.duralabels.com/wirewrap.htmlWe used Brady branded ones.They self-laminate so the label doesn’t wear off and you don’t have a little tag sticking out to hang up in your rat-nest closet.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386072",
"author": "FaultyWarrior",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T04:04:30",
"content": "@Spork – The best way I’ve found is to use actual wire tags, since they’re not as big as say a piece of painter’s tape. But I’m re-doing that entire jungle of wiring over the next few weeks, so I’m going to try different ways and see what works best when dealing with 100+ wires at once.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386075",
"author": "Rachel",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T04:16:08",
"content": "I’ve been using 3M white electrical tape as labels for years. Unlike everything else, it doesn’t fall apart after a month, and it still peels off cleanly after years.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386082",
"author": "Pete",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T04:31:28",
"content": "@therian I don’t think its a short circuit. Headphone jacks tend to incorporate a switch inside to know whether to output to the jack or built in speakers. He is just filling it to make the audio output to the jack not the internal speakers.I have done this on a TV before which had surround sound speakers plugged into it because if the TV was switched off next time it came on it reset the internal speaker volume and outputted to it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386105",
"author": "pff",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T05:59:07",
"content": "dont understand hype about labelling wires.if you have a small number of cables, especially network, buy different colored cables.if you have a large number of network cables, and you dont have a patch bay with labels on the front then i feel really sorry for you lol.open source server farm … wat? in what way is this “open source”? just pictures of servers and components. cad drawings? yeh i can build a server farm from cad drawings…midi power tools … wait why?audio, nice ribbon – best project hereipad case … lolololol no case will hide it enough that people will stop laughing at your ipad",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386149",
"author": "MrX",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T07:00:09",
"content": "“Labeling cables” I’ve been doing it for years on power cords..“Manual mute ‘key’ for your netbook”Jeezz the guy must be running windows!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386164",
"author": "awesome guy",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T07:26:15",
"content": "i’ve been using a similar thing to the mute key for years, but it gets annoying after a while",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386183",
"author": "saimhe",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T09:33:53",
"content": "Re: that hardware mute solution,last time I browsed through those “laptop schematics” (sometimes they can be found free of charge), the switch in the headphone jack doesn’t route the audio signal as it does in a cheap boom box. It is instead a simple digital input that turns the speaker amplifier on/off. I think this is more reliable: 1) one contact pair instead of two (for stereo), 2) contacts are low-current.Was a surprise for me when I discovered it for the first time.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386190",
"author": "steve_m",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T10:46:33",
"content": "Regarding facebook’s OPEN Compute Project:http://laforge.gnumonks.org/weblog/2011/04/09/#20110409-facebook_opencompute_hot_airI totally agree to this opinion.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386195",
"author": "James",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T11:01:35",
"content": "Mute key? How pointless. Why can’t you just disable the start up sound or turn down the volume?What a waste of effort.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386213",
"author": "wardy",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T11:43:15",
"content": "I would never have thought of using labels to label stuff. Incredible.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386222",
"author": "Aaron",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T12:34:32",
"content": "How come all you fucking holier-than-thou hipsters are still crapping up this place, anyway? Surely there’s some really awesome and obscure hacking blog that nobody’s heard of yet.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386247",
"author": "Fozzy Vis",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T13:38:35",
"content": "For anyone digging the midi home appliance/power tool dance party, you should check out the short movie “Music for one apartment and six drummers” (link above). It’s like the movie, but on steroids.After the short movie, the same people also made an even better feature film with the same intentions: “Sound of Noise”. More than worth the watch!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386248",
"author": "Jess",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T13:39:38",
"content": "I like the mute key. If you didn’t mute your computer before you shut it down, you can’t turn off the volume before it boots up, and this is a good way to avoid that sound.Personally, I’ve had experience with this, too. The port replicator for my laptop will often say it’s muted, but if I didn’t actually bring the volume control down to 0%, it will still make the sound. My solution is to either leave headphones plugged into my port replicator at all times, or I’ve been using a right-angle headphone adapter:ersonally, I’ve had experience with this, too.Good work!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386249",
"author": "Fozzy Vis",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T13:39:53",
"content": "Seems I missed the link location, the link is by clicking on the commenter’s name (so below…)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386261",
"author": "Joshua Behrens",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T14:24:43",
"content": "I made myself some of those mute-keys before ;) for my netbook for the same reason as shown here.I connected one of mine with the security-lock from the netbook. It’s wokring :D",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386326",
"author": "Jason",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T16:12:10",
"content": "For the cable labels, I find that if I don’t have a Brady label maker handy to make the self-laminating labels, I print out the labels on normal paper, wrap it around the cable and then use a piece of clear packing tape to laminate it to the cable. Works well and you don’t have those ugly flag labels all over the place.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386343",
"author": "anybody'sguess",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T16:43:45",
"content": "Plastic bread bag ties, especially the long ones work great for labeling cables.They look like this. Kind of____| || ||| ||-( )-",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386344",
"author": "anybody'sguess",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T16:44:25",
"content": "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! it screwed up my pic when i posted it!!!!!!!!!!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386348",
"author": "jwstolk",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T16:54:21",
"content": "I used a similar manual mute for a Sony PictureBook, form the days when the word NetBook didn’t exist yet. On boot-up, there was a ~1:10 chance of the sound-card driver going ballistic, and sending about 200 Hz square-wave at max Vpp to the internal speakers. When Linux (RedHat 6?) had finally booted, the volume could not be lowered, since the driver didn’t work. Only a full power-down would stop the roar, which was quite annoying in public spaces, and even dangerous when wearing headphones during boot-up.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386357",
"author": "K!P",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T17:15:39",
"content": "i like the mute key, BUT you could just disable the startup sounds in windows, so you dont need to mute…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386370",
"author": "Jorge",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T17:41:07",
"content": "I wonder if the mute would work for my laptop… Sometimes when music is played with the headphones on, it plays a second of audio through the speakers and then redirects it to the headphones… it only happens on Windows, though… Linux works fine, which is good, since it is my main OS.BTW, first time on hackaday, and I’m liking it a lot :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386388",
"author": "Whatnot",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T18:08:15",
"content": "Ha jwstolk, I had a TV card that did that under linux, max the sound and not accessible to turn it off, I think people that were within 200 yards might still remember even though it was a few years ago.Addendum: quick vote of support for aaron’s feelings about those people he mentions.and @anybody’sguess: You should have used the HTML ‘code’ tag maybe.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386446",
"author": "Brennan",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T20:16:53",
"content": "Wow, I LOVE LOVE LOVE that mute key idea. Perfect for college students that have a laptop/netbook in class. I was too lazy to actually make a hack out of it so I just plugged in my headphones whenever I was booting and unsure if I left it on mute. It worked because I always had headphones with me but this mute plug is even better.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386706",
"author": "NoBody",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T07:20:07",
"content": "no problem w/ linux…via startup-script (e.g.):amixer sset Master off -qamixer sset Master 0 -q",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386892",
"author": "walt",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T15:06:49",
"content": "“ensure he wouldn’t have startup sounds played in class”truth translation:ensure his roommates wouldn’t know when we was watching his adult videos.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386989",
"author": "Gera",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T18:52:27",
"content": "Oh, dear god. I do the EXACT same thing Randi does.Also you can plug it in the mic socket when you aren’t using it :P (I have it there right now).@NoBody: Yes, yes problem. I DO want my laptop to play sounds on startup when I’m not in class.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,204.894228
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/25/single-chip-digital-audio-player/
|
Single-chip Digital Audio Player
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"digital audio hacks",
"Microcontrollers"
] |
[
"12F1840",
"fet",
"microsd",
"pic",
"sd"
] |
[Dmitry Gr.] built
a simple circuit to playback digital audio
. At the center you can see an 8-pin PIC 12F1840 microcontroller. It’s pulling audio data from a microSD card which is read through a full-sized SD card adapter to which he soldered jumper wires for all of the necessary connections. There is one additional semiconductor, a FET which is used to drive the speaker seen to the left. Unregulated power is provided by a pair of AA batteries (four are seen in the picture above but only two are actually connected to the circuit). He’s planning to post his code package soon, but for now you’ll have to be satisfied with a couple of demo videos and a schematic. Both videos are embedded after the break, and we’ve also included a screenshot of the schematic which is shown in the second video.
This is very similar to
the 1-Bit Symphony CD
we saw almost a year ago in a links post. That one used a jewel case instead of the protoboard seen here, and had a headphone jack instead of the speaker.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRweAaubie0&w=470]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtMgx4yMETw&w=470]
| 48
| 43
|
[
{
"comment_id": "385918",
"author": "Dmitry Grinberg",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T21:15:22",
"content": "Except this one is not 1 bit :) the output resolution is adjustable and currently stands at 6bit in that video. Sampling rate is adjustable too, and is 44100 Hz in that video. The cool parts are: card sector size is 512 bytes, but this pic has less ram, so card data is streamed to a circular buffer.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385919",
"author": "Dmitry Grinberg",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T21:17:26",
"content": "Oh, and this also plays real music, not single channel beeps :)I always welcome suggestions, and I’ll post the code sometime this week on my site together with a writeup and a few cool additions",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385920",
"author": "MassFactor",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T21:19:25",
"content": "Clearly fake, how could someone fit so much audio into such a small package?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "585423",
"author": "maxctg",
"timestamp": "2012-02-20T11:51:55",
"content": "The music is on the SD card, why would you think thats too small to hold any music? The pic micro is only the card reader/player!",
"parent_id": "385920",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "385923",
"author": "Matt",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T21:28:47",
"content": "Embed video sez-“This video contains content from Sony ATV publishing. It is restricted from playback on certain sites.”Plus side of that: This thing’s fidelity(?) is good enough to be picked up by content protection.Looks neat.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385929",
"author": "Sprite_tm",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T21:46:12",
"content": "Dmitry: Actually, being somewhat pedantic, it’s still one bit: the output of your pin either is one or zero. It’s probably oversampled heavily, giving the effect of being 6-bit at 44KHz, but it’s still one bit.Do you get any good quality from the single FET btw? I’d think the FET can ‘push out’ the conus of the speaker OK, but the ‘pulling in’ it has to do by means of the elasticity of the rubber, which isn’t too stong a force. You might want to try putting half an H-bridge in the FETs place, I’d think it’d improve the quality/volume by a fair amount.Btw, have you seen this?http://elm-chan.org/works/sd8p/report.html<-8bit wav playing, oversampling the PWM at 0.25MHz. Sounds absolutely awesome and indistinguishable from a PC+soundcard.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1018641",
"author": "Karl Evans",
"timestamp": "2013-06-22T16:58:10",
"content": "Would it not be analogue at the point it goes to the speaker therefore why are we talking about bits i.e. not digital.",
"parent_id": "385929",
"depth": 2,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1018749",
"author": "FightCube",
"timestamp": "2013-06-23T00:21:58",
"content": "Because the quality of the audio is only as good as the number of bits in the encoded audio sample and how you take those bits and convert them back to an analog signal. Does a 64kbps MP3 sound as good as a 320kbps MP3? 16bit WAV vs. 44bit WAV?",
"parent_id": "1018641",
"depth": 3,
"replies": []
}
]
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "385930",
"author": "therian",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T21:46:22",
"content": "the best part, he didn’t need any shields :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385934",
"author": "Dmitry Grinberg",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T21:59:20",
"content": "@Sprite_tm – no I haven’t seen that – seems like quite a similar idea. The speaker I use is quite elastic, so it pulls in fine for my purposes. Sadly pic is not able to provide the current needed to drive the speaker directly. It works without the FET, but much quieter. my goal with this project is to make it wake up periodically at random periods, play a few seconds and go back to sleep. microsd, 3v cell battery, SOIC PIC, stacked together for a tiny device that is easy to hide under a desk. it will wake-up and rickroll random persons and go back to sleep :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385935",
"author": "Dmitry Grinberg",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T22:00:02",
"content": "@Sprite_tm – my output freq is 1MHz. I found that 250KHz or lower did not produce good enough levels",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385940",
"author": "Hirudinea",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T22:05:33",
"content": "SUCK IT iPod! :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385945",
"author": "Matt Mackall",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T22:21:35",
"content": "It’s not at all like 1-bit Symphony. That project fit an entire CD’s worth of artful musical composition into the microcontroller itself, together with the multivoice waveform synthesis playback code. This project, while clever, is not in the same ballpark.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385956",
"author": "aztraph",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T23:10:43",
"content": "Brilliant, love using the sd adapter as a dock. at first i thought he ruined a perfectly good card.what i want to know is did he have to change the mp3 to mono from stereo? I tried sending some old waves to my phone for ring tones and i had to convert them to stereo for my phone to recognize them.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385958",
"author": "filjoa",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T23:24:10",
"content": "Hiis possible you share some example of your code?like player file from card?best regards",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385990",
"author": "spiritplumber",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T23:56:09",
"content": "Beautiful and elegant! Hope you share the code, I’d really love to see how you oversample.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385991",
"author": "Harvie.CZ",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T23:58:02",
"content": "We need to implement some mp3/ogg decoder for PIC or Attiny :-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385996",
"author": "salomon",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T00:17:10",
"content": "Very nice use of a PIC, im still doing sounds by single channel beeps hehehehe",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386042",
"author": "Brett W. (FightCube.com)",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T02:07:10",
"content": "I swear I keep running into my clones on HAD. Every single idea I have, my clones are tirelessly working on while I sleep!To the LETTER you’ve created a miniature rick roll device. Great job!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386046",
"author": "Diego Spinola",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T02:26:29",
"content": "Really nice! loved it =D",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386097",
"author": "dudeman",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T05:35:57",
"content": "chop suey!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386318",
"author": "Chewie RFC",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T15:59:52",
"content": "FINALLY! A project that does not involve an Arduino and uses real skill! Nice work.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386331",
"author": "bothersaidpooh",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T16:22:56",
"content": "Neat idea, presumably the extra program memory makes this possible whereas a 12F683 wouldn’t do it.What about modifying this code to decode a microSD card enough to read two audio channels?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386355",
"author": "Dmitry Grinberg",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T17:13:59",
"content": "Actually this PIC choice was for speed. PICs run an instruction at every 4 clock cycles so to obtain 8MIPS performance a clock of 32MHz is needed, which this PIC has. With an AVR, this would be much easier since they do not have this atrocious 4 clocks per instruction problem.Code size is not large",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386471",
"author": "Ross",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T21:38:29",
"content": "Can you post the code we would like to try it with 24FPIC.I wonder if it could play a MP3 file?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386523",
"author": "Brett W. (FightCube.com)",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T23:28:05",
"content": "@Chewie RFC – I would argue that it could take a lot of skill to make a big turd, and little skill to make something wonderful and beautiful complicated. Also, If someone implements a task using the Arduino platform vs. the same task done using say a TI-85 calculator with Z80 assembly code, what’s so great about it being done on the TI-85? Most people don’t have access to the tools that you need to even program that processor or the matching TI-85 calculator. Can the TI-85 calculator then be miniaturized and turned into a real product very easily? You can still be impressed by the TI-85 achievement, but I don’t think this diminishes the overall use of the Arduino platform. The same can be said with working with a standalone Atmel uC in AVR Studio with an AVR programmer vs. the ATmega328 and an Arduino. The end is the same, and better yet you can even use AVR Studio and an ISP programmer with the Arduino if you chose to. You can also chose to not use the Arduino libraries and write your own code right in the Arduino IDE. I think too many people see the Arduino as a bad thing, a toy, but in fact it’s quiet the opposite. It’s just another well designed and supported tool to complete a task.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386605",
"author": "Frogz",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T03:10:42",
"content": "its reading a uncompressed wave of unknown bitrate directly, this shouldnt be that hard for a pic to handle, its not like it has to decode a compressed encoded ogg file",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386606",
"author": "Dmitry Grinberg",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T03:13:46",
"content": "ok, Frogs, you try it :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386663",
"author": "menotme",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T06:02:04",
"content": "how does it sound with 8khz samples? what mosfet did you use? was your pwm freq really 1mhz?can it play another song? ;)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386677",
"author": "roliop",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T06:39:39",
"content": "Pins 2,4, and 7 are all grounded ? Are we sure ??rp",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386963",
"author": "mbonnin",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T17:56:35",
"content": "Wondering what is the capacitor for ?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387062",
"author": "patheticbliss",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T22:26:42",
"content": "System Of A Down! Hell yeah!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387575",
"author": "Dmitry Grinberg",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T19:57:43",
"content": "posting stuff now:http://dmitry.co/index.php?p=./04.Thoughts/02.%20Single-chip%20audio%20Player",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387626",
"author": "Chewie RFC",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T22:48:20",
"content": "@Brett W. – I don’t think I conveyed completely what I meant. I don’t see the Arduino as a bad thing at all. I think it’s a great platform for rapid prototyping and for non-engineering types to get into the hobby. It’s great for that.But when you break it down, the Arduino platform also removes a lot of the more skilled engineering that may be involved with more a “direct hardware” approach, if I may coin the term. Also, you see a lot of Arduino projects that are essentially killing a mosquito with a nuclear missile. Like I said before, GREAT for the beginner or the rapid prototype… but it’s also great for those people to maybe open their experiences up with other platforms and solutions.Plus, I’m a PIC fan. :) (first microcontroller I learned, PIC16F877A). Actually, I like analog, specifically RF.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387865",
"author": "roliop",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T11:23:23",
"content": "OK… Dmitry has provided a different diagramme on his website: he has corrected the wiring ( which is wrong in the video ) and also uses the more conventional numbering of the pins. None of this is mentioned, so keep your eyes peeled :-)Apart from that, a nice project. If I were doing it, I’d probably just glue everything to the back of the SD adapter, and maybe pot it.rp",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389171",
"author": "bothersaidpooh",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T12:46:21",
"content": "Where do you get these micros from in small quantities? Mchip has them but the minimum order seems to be 1000…No luck on Ebay or the usual suppliers.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389178",
"author": "mbonnin",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T12:57:34",
"content": "I have the option to buy 1-25 for 1.28$ each on microchip website (http://www.microchipdirect.com/productdetails.aspx?mid=10&catalog=buymicrochip&category=PIC12F1840). But if you just want a few, you can try asking for samples, it usually works.If it does not, digikey should have a large choice of PIC microcontrollers as well",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389206",
"author": "Brett W. (FightCube.com)",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T14:12:32",
"content": "http://www.DigiKey.comseconded.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "448697",
"author": "geck0geek",
"timestamp": "2011-09-06T06:11:10",
"content": "…and the source code?^^…how could i actually program the pic???…i really badly need it:) thanks^^",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "493919",
"author": "krp",
"timestamp": "2011-10-29T08:04:54",
"content": "it is purely fake, how would you produce analog sound signal from a digital pin of microcontroller pwm without using any capacitor+resistor filter.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "585633",
"author": "Brett W. (FightCube.com)",
"timestamp": "2012-02-20T21:18:03",
"content": "From the following Altera White Paper:http://www.altera.com/literature/wp/wp-01085-analog-output-digital-cpld-pwm.pdf“One common misconception is that an audio output requires a filter to convert the digital PWM signal to an analog voltage. A speaker is a machine just like the motor, so the amount of energy imparted on air molecules by the cone is also -> voltage x current x time = joules”",
"parent_id": "493919",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "542970",
"author": "dirk",
"timestamp": "2011-12-23T14:45:13",
"content": "PWM for one",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "585537",
"author": "Ross",
"timestamp": "2012-02-20T17:26:48",
"content": "This concept is not fake we are doing a similar project. Our design comes from “Programming 16-bit Microcontrollers in C Learning to Fly the PIC 24” (which is a great book you should get one)- the audio is stored on the SD card the PIC does a fairly simple PWM function with very good quality audio.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "585630",
"author": "Brett W. (FightCube.com)",
"timestamp": "2012-02-20T21:09:49",
"content": "+1 for “Programming 16-bit Microcontrollers in C – Learning to Fly the PIC 24” this is a great book!",
"parent_id": "585537",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "595122",
"author": "Russell_36",
"timestamp": "2012-03-05T05:57:55",
"content": "ARDUINO = DO I REALLY KNOW ???No, that is why I picked ARDUINO…ARDUINO is designed for beginners and peoplethat really don’t care how you setup a circuit for a microcontroller…Myself I love Pic Micro, it is untouched…I can do whatever I want to. I don’t have to buy a prefabbed board ever single time for a project…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1054485",
"author": "Ranzley",
"timestamp": "2013-09-09T06:23:40",
"content": "hello sir do you have a link or tutotrial how to do that?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1245599",
"author": "Sehaj",
"timestamp": "2014-03-08T11:40:09",
"content": "HiWhen will u upload the code ?And does the songs starts from begining whenever we connect the battery ??",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1252017",
"author": "Pedro Henrique",
"timestamp": "2014-03-10T23:05:26",
"content": "Hello, does it work with other pic 12f? Like PIC 12F675?Thanks",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,205.240942
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/25/motorcycle-turned-chicken-launcher/
|
Motorcycle Turned Chicken Launcher
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"Misc Hacks"
] |
[
"foul",
"launcher",
"motorcycle",
"rubber chicken"
] |
Those who frequently work with them will tell you that rubber chickens are actually pretty heavy. You’re not going to do much damage chucking them by hand and that’s why
you need your own rubber chicken launcher
. This most-excellent magazine-fed foul-flinger was built by artist [Sean Pace] as a senior project while working toward his fine arts degree at UNC Asheville. He reused the rear end of a motorcycle, purposing the spinning wheel to grab the birds out of an in-feed channel and fling them much like a mechanical football launcher would. It kind of makes us wonder if you could do the same thing with
a pneumatic football launcher
?
[Sean’s] contraption is built on a stationary base, but in the video after the break you can see it firing from a flatbed truck. Seems somewhat like a whimsical warthog if you’re a Halo fan.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeXa58xHmsY&w=470]
[via
Neatorama
]
| 19
| 18
|
[
{
"comment_id": "385889",
"author": "Mooseral",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T20:11:27",
"content": "In the case of the chicken itself, I do believe that the desired synonym is fowl, not foul. Although I do imagine that fresh rubber chickens would also smell fairly foul. The perpetration of a chicken bombardment might also be considered a foul deed. As well as a fowl one.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385890",
"author": "Necromant",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T20:12:04",
"content": "Wish I had that much free time.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "510494",
"author": "Sooper Dude",
"timestamp": "2011-11-16T22:39:51",
"content": "It’s not free time. He was doing it for a degree. What you should have said was maybe ‘wish I was creative enough to come up with super fun and cool ways to achieve my goals’.",
"parent_id": "385890",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "385891",
"author": "quidagis",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T20:12:31",
"content": "How fowl smelling that foul-slinger must be!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385894",
"author": "Timmah",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T20:16:29",
"content": "@Mooseral – it could also be foul if it goes outside either of the posts.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385897",
"author": "Drew",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T20:19:02",
"content": "It looks like something out of Mad Max.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385909",
"author": "Pedro",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T20:47:19",
"content": "Does anyone know if there’s a preferred brand of rubber chicken? Maybe one with a pulley in the middle pre-installed…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385912",
"author": "Amos",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T21:02:07",
"content": "heh, great Monkey Island reference, @Pedro!@Necromant: agree",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386013",
"author": "Joradn Gray",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T00:53:46",
"content": "you mean, fowl-flinger?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386019",
"author": "the sword master",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T00:57:57",
"content": "+1 for the monkey island reference",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386040",
"author": "Keith",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T02:04:53",
"content": "I think we all really needed to see a rapid-fire segment, right?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386177",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T08:55:45",
"content": "VERY nice!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386192",
"author": "echodelta",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T10:50:55",
"content": "I have a 36mm tall rubber chicken. Tube air launched or spit like cricket spitting, it could go far.Video fail massive shakes. Shoot several, watch, delete, then send. Can’t see the action on the launcher. Whats with the red things on the umbrella frame?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386235",
"author": "Swankie",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T13:04:54",
"content": "needs more power.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386246",
"author": "Ren",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T13:38:28",
"content": "@echodelta,The red things look like boxing gloves to me.I wish something had been mentioned about the target. For example, was it built by Sean as well?Or was it built by a another student as their Senior Project? What model of motorcycle was used? How many chickens per gallon (cpg) does the launcher achieve? Because it uses an Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) does this qualify as a “fire”arm and therefore need to be registered and licensed? At least he won’t need a concealed weapons permit (unless he places a tent over it).Does the base of the launcher swivel? Was the flatbed truck borrowed or rented?Ink wiring mimes Juan two no.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386306",
"author": "Bob",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T15:45:25",
"content": "How on earth is this part of a fine art degree!?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386335",
"author": "emilio",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T16:28:13",
"content": "“it’s me Bren gun!”",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386506",
"author": "flare",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T22:52:16",
"content": "Sean did build the boxing glove target thing as well, i forget the name, but I believe he tells you in this video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8luuzkCpxMThis vid will also give you a closer and more detailed view.@Drew Hell yeah, I can see it in mad max 2 as the bad guys(if there are really bad guys in any of the movies, lol) would use it to screw with the group they’re attacking.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "540385",
"author": "mini moto",
"timestamp": "2011-12-20T16:07:52",
"content": "hahahah a chicken launcher. Now that is out of control!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,205.137687
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/25/can-crusher-keeps-track-of-your-recycling-efforts/
|
Can Crusher Keeps Track Of Your Recycling Efforts
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Arduino Hacks",
"home hacks"
] |
[
"arduino",
"crusher",
"recycling"
] |
Instructables user [MRHint] was inspired by his friends’ recycling efforts, and decided to start recycling as well. The one thing he noticed was that they typically had no idea how many cans they had stored up, nor how much their bags of cans weigh. He figured that he could somewhat
automate the crushing process while keeping an accurate can count
using a handful of electronics and some elbow grease.
He started by designing a can crushing rig that would use an old windshield wiper motor he had sitting around the house. The motor is connected to a pulley, which drives a set of threaded rods connected to his movable crushing panel. When the motor is started, the panel is drawn against a stationary board, crushing the can.[MRHint] also had an unused Arduino hanging around, so he used it to control the crusher as well as keep track of how many times the crusher had been run.
From what we hear the whole setup works pretty well, but as with any project he sees plenty of room for improvement. Future changes may include a more powerful motor and a chain/sprocket setup in place of the belt and pulley he currently uses. Do you have any other suggestions for [MRHint]? Let us know in the comments.
| 27
| 26
|
[
{
"comment_id": "385872",
"author": "lolwut",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T19:36:30",
"content": "maybe adding a digital scale with tear weight to get just the weight of the cans, and then have either a microcontroller (or arduino but thats overkill) to show on a LCD what the weight X price of aluminum recycle to get the total $ worth of alyminum you have.bonus points if you do use and arduino + enet shield to pull current prices of recycled aluminum and update that on the LCD",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385876",
"author": "Aaron",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T19:48:41",
"content": "Or you could just weigh a single empty soda can, then weigh your recycling bin when it’s empty, then weigh it when it’s full, subtract step 2, then divide by step 1 to get the number of cans in the bin. But, hey, why not massively over-engineer it, then stuff in a whole Arduino for good measure?Didn’t hacking used to connote a sort of spare elegance, rather than this kind of outright wastefulness?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385879",
"author": "Aaron",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T19:51:39",
"content": "And just how many amp-hours does that thing waste, anyway?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385884",
"author": "Keith",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T19:56:13",
"content": "@lolwutIt’s “tare” not “tear”",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385886",
"author": "Kron",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T20:04:28",
"content": "i’m a bit sceptical about residues from within the cans sticking to the machine and making it stink like hell after some time. since we have these reverse vending machines in northern europe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Container_deposit_machine.jpg– nice wall hack btw:-)) there’s a verry smelly and sticky area in all the supermarketssucks living in northern europe – we have a container deposit on cans and bottles of up to 0.55 USD per container (!!!)crusehd bottles – no moneys:-(",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385896",
"author": "Timmah",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T20:18:34",
"content": "@Aaron, I definitely agree with that. What’s the point of recycling ? To conserve energy and resources. Yet the energy required to crush a can expends both.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385902",
"author": "macw",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T20:25:53",
"content": "the energy required to crush a can is far less than that required to refine the same amount of new aluminum from bauxite.and in any case, there’s no real need to have an automatic system to crush the cans — doing it by foot takes what, five seconds? is this guy really producing more than twelve empty soda cans a minute? If you absolutely have to have a mechanical system to do it there are hand-powered crushers you can buy that kids love to operate.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385905",
"author": "Kron",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T20:32:22",
"content": "@Aaron:less amp hours than your trollstation?peace;-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385907",
"author": "enrico fermi",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T20:40:31",
"content": "i’d like it more if he used a terrifyingly massive capacitor bank to crush the cans. screw energy efficiency, lets make it awesome!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385917",
"author": "Aaron",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T21:14:29",
"content": "Kron: By ‘trollstation’ I assume you refer to the machine I use to make a living by engaging in productive economic activity. Did you have a point?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385921",
"author": "Aaron",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T21:26:03",
"content": "Also, wtf? Since when is criticism on legitimate grounds equated with trolling? It’d be trolling if I came in here and said everyone who uses an Arduino blows goats or something; it’s not trolling that I come in here and say “You know, for something built out of an ostensible concern for conservation, that seems awfully wasteful in comparison with human-powered solutions which are both widely known and well-established in practice.”I’m not particularly nice about how I say it, no, but that’s because I’m kind of an asshole. Being kind of an asshole doesn’t necessarily mean I’m wrong.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385922",
"author": "Aaron",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T21:27:39",
"content": "And assholery aside, it’s the same kind of penny-wise, pound-foolish thinking that leads to foolishness like thinking wind and solar by themselves can reliably and indefinitely satisfy our species-wide energy needs.(Now *that’s* trolling!)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385925",
"author": "Brett W. (FightCube.com)",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T21:30:57",
"content": "I really like the idea, but hate spending time rinsing, crushing, bagging and taking cans to a recycler… sorry, it’s just not my idea of time well spent. After a thousand cans or so you start to think just not consuming this type of canned beverage is better for the environment and your body.For all of the people wanting this to be more “green”, how about a large sandbag weight that can be hoisted up into position by hand (use a mechanical advantage system to make it easier), that stores up enough potential energy to run a mechanism that will crush a hundred cans or so. Call it the “clock-work can crusher”.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385932",
"author": "pff",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T21:54:26",
"content": "Manual Crushing = best part of recyclingUsing Electricity = Wasted Recycling EffortKeeping Track Of How Many Cans You Recycle = Pointlesswhy is this project even exist?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385936",
"author": "Aaron",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T22:01:49",
"content": "I suppose that’s a possibility, Brett W.Or you could just stomp on the damn things. The best possible optimization, after all, is to avoid building an unnecessary machine in the first place, no matter how nifty it is.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "6433129",
"author": "Clarky21",
"timestamp": "2022-02-24T10:10:43",
"content": "We get 10c per can here in aus so the counting part is very useful",
"parent_id": "385936",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "385963",
"author": "Rick",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T23:45:44",
"content": "The can counting feature could be very useful in states that have a can deposit and measure by weight. You know exactly how much the recycling center is ripping you off.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386005",
"author": "Aaron",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T00:35:55",
"content": "So you can precisely quantify the level of your practically unsatisfiable annoyance? :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386086",
"author": "bryon",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T04:46:21",
"content": "I’d put an electrical interlock on it so curious, little kids don’t crush their little hands.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386099",
"author": "pff",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T05:44:56",
"content": "rickno you dont, you know how many cans not the weight. sure you could math but its less accurate and the you might be rage incorrectly",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386141",
"author": "aEx155",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T06:39:02",
"content": "@AaronMy friend and I once built a rube goldberg machine that incorporated custom-built and designed mechanisms, controlled by an acrylic control panel with LEDs and switches, along with a custom-designed spring tensioner and mechanical temperature sensor, powered by special-ordered batteries. In total, we spend at least 200 hours on it and around $200 spent.Why? Because we wanted to.It was for a science competition for our school, and because the rules change every year, it is now obsolete. By your point of view we should have never put so much effort into something that would be obsolete after one use.But I don’t know how you can “optimize” your desire to build something, by not building something.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386211",
"author": "echodelta",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T11:33:19",
"content": "Every time I crush a can I say Muck Fishigan. There is a 10cent refund on cans in that state. During trip in a small car with others in that state north of Indiana, we crushed the cans along the way. On the way back I took the sticky stinky cans into a quick mart and they couldn’t take them. They have to be intact. They stack them into plastic garbage bags making hexagonal towers, what a joke! What of Fosters or Red Bull? What of garbage being brought into a clean store, that is a health problem! Even bags brought in can have roaches inside, yuck! These laws are stupid, the cost of handling is high. Needed are tougher littering laws. Every time there is a high wind bags blow out of our city recycling bins which have no lids. Plastics are a global menace.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386231",
"author": "Aaron",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T12:58:07",
"content": "aEx155: Not comparable. Rube Goldberg machines are supposed to be pointless; this is a massively over-engineered solution to a problem which doesn’t exist for anyone with a kitchen scale, a decent pair of shoes, and the wit to make use of them both.Granted, it is a *well*-engineered solution, but it’s overdone just the same.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386292",
"author": "NateOcean",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T15:09:41",
"content": "Don’t cans have bar-codes? Why aren’t those being scanned, logged, and data-mined? hehehe",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386666",
"author": "MRHint",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T06:10:53",
"content": "@lolwut: Thanks, I like the enet shield idea!@Aaron: The whole idea is “not to outdo your foot, to save the world, or to create some sort of hack to be outright wasteful,” it was just an idea I had for a machine; a machine for fun/to make life easier for some people.The real recycling was the reuse of junk: the wood was left-over from when my apartment’s roof was redone, the motor was junk my dad held on to, and the arduino wasn’t being used. The idea I came to me when my buddy was saving cans for someone else he works with. I wanted it to be automatic and easy to use—you put a can in, it detects the can, it opens up, the can drops, it crushes the can, it opens up, drops the can, adds one to the count, and multiplies the count by the weight of one can.I don’t own a kitchen scale, nor do I need one, but I do live on the second floor–I am sure the people living downstairs from my apartment would throw a fit if every time a can was empty I started stomping on them.There are a lot of people in my apartments who are older and have disabilities. I would hate to hear that my grandmother fell and broke her hip because she was stomping on cans.This thing is not for sale, it is just made because it was asking to be made.The article asked for suggestions, you gave one smart-ass comment, followed by three smart-ass questions. Let me respond to them in order:#1) Or you could just weigh a single empty soda can, then weigh your recycling bin when it’s empty, then weigh it when it’s full, subtract step 2, then divide by step 1 to get the number of cans in the bin. The main point is not to know how many cans, but to use the number of cans to know the weight.#2) But, hey, why not massively over-engineer it, then stuff in a whole Arduino for good measure?There really isn’t such a thing as over-engineering.#3) And just how many amp-hours does that thing waste, anyway?All of them.You were trolling. That wasn’t productive criticism, it was a mockery of the whole idea.No one ever said solar and wind will be the only energy sources ever.No one said you were an asshole because you were not nice, people know you are an asshole because you can’t stay on topic and drop it when you have been called out on it and you criticize everyone’s posts.But, I do appreciate you calling it “well-engineered and overdone.”@Timmah: I don’t think it uses that much energy buddy; compared to how much you get from recycling/how much it costs to get the aluminum out of the ground.@enrico fermi: That would be cool, thanks for the idea.@macw: I did get the idea while visiting a buddy who was recycling for someone else, the biggest idea was of a community recycling collectively.@Kron: He is a troll.@Bret W.: I agree.@pff: I don’t think it is really that big of a deal, I wanted to make something. And it counts the cans to approximate the weight, not so you know how many cans you have.@Rick: It is more of do you have enough weight to make the trip to the recycling center cost effective, not really to tell if someone is ripping you off.@Byron: Good idea, thanks.@echodelta: Yeah, stick it to the man.@NateOcean: That’s a cool idea. Maybe scan them before they are crushed…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386668",
"author": "MRHint",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T06:12:33",
"content": "Oh yeah, thanks Mike Nathan for posting this!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387595",
"author": "NoFway",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T20:53:04",
"content": "Interesting. I like it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,204.966555
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/25/diy-resin-cast-project-box/
|
DIY Resin Cast Project Box
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Misc Hacks",
"Parts"
] |
[
"diy",
"project box",
"resin casting"
] |
[Rhys] wrote in to share a custom project box he built from scratch using polyester resin. He states that in New Zealand, he tends to have problems finding the perfect project box. They are typically too big or small to get the job done,
so he figured he might as well just build his own to spec
.
Using Google SketchUp, he designed his ideal project box, then got busy building wooden molds. He scored some free melamine scraps from a local company, which he used to build the base of his molding rig. Once the inner and outer molds were built, he secured them to his base and mixed up some polyester resin.
A few hours later, he pulled apart his molds and smoothed out his project box with some sandpaper. He drilled and tapped screw holes, then prepared to make a lid and base for the box.
He admits that the process is quite involved, but there is something to be said for building yourself an enclosure made specifically for the project it is going to house. If you are looking to do something similar be sure to check out his blog – he offers up some sound resin casting tips, as well as some pitfalls to avoid.
| 26
| 22
|
[
{
"comment_id": "385843",
"author": "Tex©",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T18:03:54",
"content": "this is a really great idea XD",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385844",
"author": "eric",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T18:06:32",
"content": "This looks really nice! Well done.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385846",
"author": "CutThroughStuffGuy",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T18:08:36",
"content": "3D Printer = perfect enclosure production machine.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385851",
"author": "Barefoot",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T18:25:35",
"content": "CNC = perfect enclosure mold production machine.OTOH, No 3D Printer + No CNC = the average schlub who has to resort to (gasp!) *hand tools* !!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385852",
"author": "Bob D",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T18:28:25",
"content": "@CutThroughStuffGuy Unless you don’t want it to look like it was made from spaghetti. And you don’t feel like paying $1K+ for a enclosure maker.I do both resin casting and 3d printing and I enjoy resin casting much better. You can get better detail than even the highest end 3d printers, and can usually produce parts much faster. And the ~doing~ of it is much more fun than watching a printer print.The only suggestions I’d have for Rhys is that he’s always going to have lots of cleanup when casting from wood molds. Silicone is usually the way to go. It takes a few tries to learn how to work with it correctly, and it increases the cost of the project, but they require just a little sprue cleanup and can be reused a few dozen times. (Though if you’re just doing one-offs, wood is perfectly fine, though simply coating it with Vaseline will work as a mold release without effecting the mold shape as much as tape.)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385854",
"author": "Michael Nielsen",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T18:34:11",
"content": "How high temperature and what pressure can this final case withstand? Could it be used to build a shisha/hookah/water pipe?Great job – looks very pro! Gotta try to find this in some store nearby!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385859",
"author": "Whatnot",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T18:55:27",
"content": "Ever since the chinese made me aware of how poisonous melamine is I’m hesitant to use it as a building material, I’m not sure I want the dust in my vicinity.If it’s really that bad? You decide for yourself:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melamine#Toxicity",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "432639",
"author": "N0LKK",
"timestamp": "2011-08-11T18:41:31",
"content": "How melamine is used here shouldn’t pose a great hazard. Perhaps slightly more than using melamine dinner ware, because of the few holes drilled through it.",
"parent_id": "385859",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "385865",
"author": "komradebob",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T19:11:11",
"content": "Now if someone can just come up with a good/cheap way to punch holes for DB{9,15,25} connectors.For better strength, add in a little fibreglass mat. Pretty soon you’ll be making your own GRP automobile bodies! :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "432655",
"author": "N0LKK",
"timestamp": "2011-08-11T19:08:22",
"content": "In this method you can “cast” any holes needed for connecters etc. That or work the finished enclosure like you would wood. Greenlee chassis punched may work on thinner plastic, but at~$460 for a DB 9 punch few home shops are going to have that in the tool cabinet.",
"parent_id": "385865",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "432672",
"author": "N0LKK",
"timestamp": "2011-08-11T19:29:56",
"content": "Figuratively speaking the finished product feature must be bullet proof. I believe it should be possible to cast the bottom om the box at the same times the sides are cast A nice on-line write up of process that has have covered in passed in print media. The WWW has been made a bit more complete.",
"parent_id": "385865",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "385871",
"author": "CutThroughStuffGuy",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T19:36:02",
"content": "Better throw out your Mr. Clean “Magic Erasers” / aka fine white foam melamine “sandpaper”.“Could it be used to build a shisha/hookah/water pipe?”Resin is not suitable for this. It will melt and produce toxic vapors. Resins are generally BPA based epoxies or MDI/ISO based urethanes.I second the silicone mold idea. I was thinking more of the high end 3d printers rather than a reprap. I don’t consider those 3d printers – they are toys. Getting better but functionally limited due to limitations inherent to their design.You are also correct that silicone will capture more detail than the best 3d printers. Some people have taken molds of lotus leafs and the silicone will take on the “water completely beads up into a sphere” effect. It is rather neat actually.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385881",
"author": "chemist dood",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T19:52:16",
"content": "@CutThrougStuffGuyAgreed, poly resin makes a great adhesive for laminates, but is horribly toxic and odorous. He set a good thickness as the stuff is a bit brittle when thinner.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385888",
"author": "Diego",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T20:07:20",
"content": "@WhatnotI think you have to *eat* a fair amount of melamine in order to be considered harmful.The chinese milk scandal was about the adulteration of dairy products, adding melamine in place of genuine milk. Quite insane indeed!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385892",
"author": "Hacksaw",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T20:13:27",
"content": "@Whatnot…the State of California has determined Oak to be a carcinogen…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385895",
"author": "Renee",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T20:17:51",
"content": "I like multi-discipline stuff like this. Mold making is extremely useful.I’ve thought about getting a reprap/makerbot in order to make master molds and then casting them in whatever material I want.Imagine making a complex shape on a makerbot and then casting it in aluminum.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385908",
"author": "Pedro",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T20:45:43",
"content": "My resins usually turn out a bit yellow. I normally add a fair amount of MEKP (2.5%/3%) to make the resin cure faster (it’s occasionally kinda cold out in my workshop in the UK). Would using a slower cure improve the colouring of my resins, or should I just start buying more expensive resin?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "432691",
"author": "N0LKK",
"timestamp": "2011-08-11T19:58:35",
"content": "Recently hacker Dan Rojas encapsulated a home made $1 per watt solar panel, and he covered his experience with resins.http://www.youtube.com/user/GREENPOWERSCIENCE#p/u/20/sRKphzl7PBE",
"parent_id": "385908",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "385910",
"author": "Luke",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T20:49:37",
"content": "Polyester resins are nasty, styrene-offgassing stuff. Vinylester resins are not much better, though more waterproof and stronger. If you want something safer, use a proper epoxy. Modern epoxies like MAS, East Systems, West Systems, Raka etc are low in VOCs and such and much stronger than polyester resin. While somewhat more expensive, the cost for small volumes is not prohibitive ($50/liter vs ~$20 IIRC).Rather than using fiberglass mat, consider woven fiberglass. If low strength is required and you want near transparency, very sheer fiberglass fabrics are available at RC model shops at less than one ounce per yard (think window sheers or panty hose). These can make a resin quite strong, though not as strong as a heavy 3+ oz. fabric. Those epoxy companies can provide lots of useful info online on how to use their products.Neither the resins nor epoxies are UV resistant, so if your project is going to be in the sun, paint it or cover with a clear UV absorbing urethane varnish.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385939",
"author": "Raab",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T22:05:12",
"content": "@ whatnotthe melamine wiki page you referenced differs from the melamine veneered board used in the casting. the veneer is a polymer of melamine and would have different properties to melamine compound",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385946",
"author": "CutThroughStuffGuy",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T22:26:38",
"content": "“Resins” almost always yellow or come with a yellow tint. There are some clear ones available though but you will probably have to look for them specifically.Resins can be lots and lots of different chemistries though.Epoxies are low in VOC, yes, but they almost always contain bisphenol-A (BPA).",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385950",
"author": "xoxplox",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T22:46:16",
"content": "Is there any nontoxic resin?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386002",
"author": "Whatnot",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T00:34:36",
"content": "@raab Thanks for actually thinking about it and taking note of what I talked about, and I’m not saying the stuff is so dangerous in its normal proper use, but if you start drilling and sanding and such you just get situations I myself would not feel comfortable with, and I’m not sure it being a polymer helps when it’s ground to a fine dust and inhaled and absorbed through the skin and depending on the circumstance maybe even ingested.Now I’m not saying you are doomed when you do but to me its something I’d prefer to avoid by looking for alternative materials.To the others that commented on my comment:No I don’t use a mr clean magic eraser.And you could actually take a look at the link I provided, and see how all countries and the WHO set limits and how the FDA even drastically revised theirs to make a much smaller amount safe than they advised beforehand (and if you then still mock it as if the concept of toxicity is a fable I can safely relegate you to belonging to the extremely dumb and perhaps even insane).And you would also have noticed that it can be harmful when ingested OR inhaled OR even can pass through the skin..There are mitigating factors though, it’s a natural stuff and it should not be a problem at all in normal levels, but seriously you can’t say it’s can’t possibly be a problem either, and why take the risk? Surely there are other materials you can use that don’t have such known risks when you start grinding and drilling and filing away at it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386074",
"author": "rickroll",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T04:11:57",
"content": "Nice project. Thanks for posting.For squarish boxes though, wouldn’t it be easier to cut pieces from a sheet (eg. Plexiglas), and then fasten/glue/fit/weld to get the box?Also I don’t know about New Zealand, but you can usually get suitable enclosures ready made from retail sources, mail order if necessary.Ultimately it might be cheapest and easiest to just buy it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386214",
"author": "cgmark",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T11:43:41",
"content": "The only downside I see to this is the cost of the resins. I have looked at casting things in resin in the past and the cost just doesn’t seem to justify it.A much cheaper approach is polymer clay. Polymer clay is basically powdered plastic mixed with a mineral oil that evaporates when heated and made into a clay. Roll out some sheets flat and bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Join the sheets together with the same clay, make rounded corners or special shapes and then bake again. It can be drilled, sanded, painted. Cost is about $6 in the USA for enough to make a decent enclosure and no toxic chemicals involved.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386378",
"author": "Leithoa",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T17:47:23",
"content": "Vacuforming would be faster for all but the most complex enclosure designs. As with the casting, creating the molds is the most time consuming step.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,205.309464
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/25/location-tracking-droid-does/
|
Location Tracking? ‘Droid Does
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Android Hacks",
"iphone hacks",
"Security Hacks"
] |
[
"android",
"iphone",
"location tracking",
"security",
"windows mobile"
] |
Last week, the Internet was alight with stories of iPhone location tracking. While this wasn’t exactly breaking news in security circles, it was new information to many people out there. Lots of blogs were full of commentary on the situation, including ours, with many Android users chiming in saying, “Android doesn’t do that”.
Well, that’s not entirely true –
the playing field is far more level than most people would like to admit
.
Android does have the same tracking capability, as do Windows Mobile phones for that matter. Both companies also monitor the cell towers you have connected to, as well as which Wi-Fi hotspots you have passed by. All three companies anonymize the data, though they do assign a unique ID to your location details in order to tell you apart from other users.
Where things really differ is in regards to how much information is stored. Microsoft claims that they only store the most recent location entry, while Andriod systems store the 200 most recent Wi-Fi hotspot locations as well as the most recent 50 cell towers.
At the end of the day each vendor does allow you to opt out of the tracking services, and if you are seriously concerned about the data they are tracking, you can always periodically wipe the information from your handset, should you desire.
[Image via
TheTelecomBlog
]
| 40
| 39
|
[
{
"comment_id": "385791",
"author": "Joey Joe Joe Shabadoo",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T16:03:37",
"content": "Great, I can’t wait until this makes news headlines!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385793",
"author": "Brett W. (FightCube.com)",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T16:10:25",
"content": "Figures. I’m glad I’m not a fanboy needing to eat my words right now. I do love my iPhone 3Gs and will upgrade to iPhone 5 soon. I’m sure other phones are great too.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385794",
"author": "amishx64",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T16:13:48",
"content": "Well one potential solution to preventing the Android from storing data and reporting it back would be modifying the OS source and building it.Anyone know how feasible this would be?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385796",
"author": "Jan",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T16:16:42",
"content": "The part you missed is the problem with how the data is stored with the iPhone. It isn’t a concern of privacy as much as security.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385808",
"author": "Anonymous",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T16:26:03",
"content": "So because you’re going to have GPS, you’re going to have some level of tracking, but the fact that both platform have some history of locations bothers me and I wish both parties would disclose this information.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385811",
"author": "Bacchus",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T16:36:45",
"content": "One difference is that Apple doesn’t allow you to switch it off, or delete the database, unless you jailbreak the phone, which could give you problems if Apple ever decide to get childish again. Unlikely I know, but…Dunno why they need more information about your whereabouts than they need to route calls to you. Shouldn’t it always be a configurable option?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385813",
"author": "GCL",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T16:40:44",
"content": "@Joey Joe Joe Shabadoo:Actually that was in last week’s news. It came up on Nightly News on the NBC stations. In fact there are indeed instructions on how to disable it for all of the most popular phones, iPhone and the droids. But sadly most people just click through the agreements figuring that it won’t matter to them what happens.This is surprising to some people such as myself who remember the original Mac ads which promote the fellow as anti-Big Brother.I am more concerned with people who do not secure properly their WIFI services.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385817",
"author": "DanJ",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T16:53:51",
"content": "I use Macs but must admit that there is more than a kernel of truth to the comparison of Apple today with the “nameless” company they attacked in their original, famous ad. Of course it has to do with the position they find themselves in today as opposed to when they were the underdog.We all need to remember that data, once created, is going to be used. There is simply too much incentive not too. The cellphone industry is certainly not the only place personal data is being utilized.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385818",
"author": "fartface",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T16:56:24",
"content": "Correction….with many Clueless Fanboi Android users chiming in saying, “Android doesn’t do that”.Anyone that has known ANYTHING about cellphones knows that not only did android do that but most other Location services smartphones have done that. Blackberry, Nokia… THEY ALL DO IT.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385820",
"author": "BobSmith",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T16:59:20",
"content": "All modern phones do, in fact, track you, or give others the option to track you, today. It is a matter of federal law, so as to allow for proper criminal investigation.Your phones aren’t private. Get over it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385825",
"author": "Bacchus",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T17:11:04",
"content": "@BobSmithI don’t know about the USA, but in the UK you can buy a phone for less than £5 cash money and top it up with cash too which, assuming you’re not stupid, is an anonymous phone.Few people have much of a problem with TFOLAO knowing these details, but a bunch of crazed marketeers? Include me out.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385826",
"author": "YaBa",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T17:13:17",
"content": "There’s already an app in the market to block this logging and clear the data.NEED ROOT.https://market.android.com/details?id=ch.rrelmy.android.locationcachemap",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385829",
"author": "dbear",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T17:28:26",
"content": "So basically we should all just put up with these electronic snitches in our pockets to allow “proper criminal investigation”? What else should we do to make law enforcement easier? Have cameras everywhere to monitor us? Oh wait already we have that. Cars that keep track of everything we do? Wait, we have that too. Computers that record everything we do down to the keystroke? Yep that’s been here ever since Microsoft sold us out. The new rule is that every new fun, useful or cool device must have a snitch built into it so big brother can watch over us.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385830",
"author": "alan",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T17:32:45",
"content": "Yes Bacchus, I use Mobile broadband here in the Uk so also surf the web fully anonymously! (my name is not really Alan either).Btw, Spy vs Spy – Quality game. Long live the C64!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385832",
"author": "therian",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T17:38:58",
"content": "seeing “Get over it” attitude make me want to punch a kitten",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385834",
"author": "alan",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T17:45:02",
"content": "Here is an online version of Spy vs Spy. Old skool:http://www.gameboyonline.com/spy-vs-spy-u",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385837",
"author": "Bacchus",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T17:51:10",
"content": "@”alan” :)It saddens me that a hell of a lot of effort goes into staying anonymous in order to stay off all the marketing radars, rather than TFOLAO. I suppose it’s because TFOLAO basically are looking for reasons to ignore you, whereas the marketing community just want you to live a terrifyingly “fulfilled” life through the gift of consumerism.Wow – A possible community of interest between us and the Filth? Time to lie down.Oddly enough, My name really is Bacchus, and I am god of wine, ritual madness, and ecstasy. Least that’s what my mum says…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385841",
"author": "Bill",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T18:02:32",
"content": "From the linked site:“Update: Let’s be clear here (because apparently I wasn’t): We’re talking about two completely separate issues when it comes to your phone and location data. The first issue is the location data collected by your phone and transmitted to Apple, Google or Microsoft about nearby cell towers, Wi-Fi hotspot and potentially GPS coordinates. Every company is basically on the same page here: The location services are opt-in and your data is anonymized. The second, totally different issue is the location data your phone is storing locally on the phone itself. That’s where Apple’s on the wrong page.”So yes, Apple is still worse.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385845",
"author": "Taylor Alexander",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T18:06:49",
"content": "In all fairness I’m pretty disappointed that this article fails to touch on one very important detail – Android *asks you* if you want to allow anonymous location tracking when you first set up a new phone, with a big checkbox you can easily uncheck if you don’t want them to. Nothing hidden, nothing sinister. If you change your mind you can change it in the system settings. Apple doesn’t ask, and doesn’t allow you to opt out. *THAT* was what I thought was uncool.-Taylor",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385848",
"author": "kris2lee",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T18:19:53",
"content": "@alanYou are using it from home right? So maybe you are not so anonymous as you like to think…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385855",
"author": "Max",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T18:42:33",
"content": "AAAARRRGGGGHHHHHFUD FUD FUD all I see is FUD.Get it right please. Firstly, the article above refers to Android as a company? (“Both companies also monitor…”)Then goes on to say that the data is anonymised.Hold on. This data (from the iPhone) is on MY phone. It doesn’t matter HOW much you anonymise the data on my phone, unless you give me someone else’s phone, you can track ME.This is a really bad rehash of the original article. Which isn’t bad.Then a lot of people are ranting and raving about how you will be tracked anyway. That’s true, you will be tracked by the cell towers and the service provider. HOWEVER that data is not stored on your phone. Unless you’ve got an iPhone.OK so Android stores the 50 most recent cell towers. Each cell can cover approx 30km radius. In cities you’re probably down to a few hundred metres, but NOTHING like the triangulated results Apple are storing on the iPhone.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385857",
"author": "Bacchus",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T18:51:17",
"content": "@Max:Even if you’re given someone else’s phone, assuming it’s an iPhone, you can’t restore your details to it because that re-installs the MSL database with your past movements in it.How creepy is that?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385861",
"author": "HaDurr",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T19:02:35",
"content": "@MaxI think the article assumes that you know Android is made by Google, and thus ‘both companies’ makes sense, even if its context placement is poor.Also, you clearly haven’t see this if you think that your location isn’t actually being triangulated and stored on your Android phone:http://www.bgr.com/2011/04/22/android-gathering-location-data-too-researcher-develops-harvesting-toolIt is stored on your phone, just as it is on the iPhone. While the iPhone stores a complete history on your phone as well as your computer, the Android only stores it on your phone. Aside from someone getting access to your PC, both phones can be compromised with a simple jailbreak procedure and the appropriate file can be extracted.Regardless, your location data is being transmitted to Google several times an hour if the Gizmodo infographic is to be believed. If you think Google is purging your data once it is received, you are kidding yourself.Both companies claim that you can choose to opt out of tracking, and while I can verify this on my Android handset, I don’t know if this is true on the iPhone. That aside, the only significant difference is the availability of the data. I far trust my home computer to be protected from attackers than I do my cell phone, so I really wouldn’t care if my complete history was copied to my PC.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385867",
"author": "Whatnot",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T19:12:52",
"content": "Here’s another argument against having too much info on your phone:http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/34/3458.aspAnd on the device used:http://www.cellebrite.com/forensic-products/ufed-physical-pro.htmlWorried yet? It’s freaking nightmarish",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385875",
"author": "Jon",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T19:48:06",
"content": "WHO CARES………??? Really! They dont know what you drive, who you are banging, or eating for lunch. Jesus.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1156656",
"author": "Nineties TV Heartthrob Dieter Brummer",
"timestamp": "2014-01-05T22:38:14",
"content": "They probably do.",
"parent_id": "385875",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "385885",
"author": "Whatnow?",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T20:02:09",
"content": "I can guarantee you my database is empty because my wireless network GPS. A good number of free apps request this information and I have no inclination to give it to them.That said, the two instances are so f***ing different, it’s not even funny.Android:– Limited to ~50 locations, resets when uploaded.– You must have root access to view the logs because it’s for Google’s aGPS / wifi.– Every time you enable wireless (a)GPS, this occurs:http://socialtimes.com/files/2011/04/AndroidLocationConsent-r41.pngi*:– Never resets (logged since they started)– Any app can access this database, so any app can upload this content and invade your privacy.– Find where you agree to this, and I’ll give you a pat on the back.@hadurr:Google writes Android, but isn’t in control of it’s uses. For example, Verizon has replaced Google maps, etc, with Bing / MS services, and as such, may not have this GPS database.As for Giz’s info, all of Giz’s pages have this “intro” video that mentions a specific fruit about 7 times in the first 15 seconds of the video. I don’t think you’ll find a balanced opinion there.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385887",
"author": "Whatnow?",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T20:06:50",
"content": "@jon:So you’d be cool with them randomly activating your camera and mic and sending it to the mothership? (They’ll drop this in the EULA, so you’ll have agreed to it)Where does the line stop?For me, I demand honesty from my tech companies, as I have a TON of personal information on my device. There’s nothing embarrassing there or anything, I just don’t like it. It’s my information, and I will choose to give it up if the service requires it, or I feel I can trust the company to be responsible for it.I can’t trust companies who don’t put obvious privacy concerns up front.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385898",
"author": "saimhe",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T20:20:03",
"content": "Windows Mobile does that, too? The article talks only about the new and shiny Windows Phone. A different thing.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385899",
"author": "ChalkBored",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T20:20:23",
"content": "Oh no Android is logging my location.Hey look, [flashy app|game] just came out.This application requires :",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385904",
"author": "ChalkBored",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T20:28:10",
"content": "^TLDR install anyway.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385916",
"author": "barry99705",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T21:13:04",
"content": "Heh, I use Google Latitude, I could give two shits about Google storing my location. They can do that just from my browser.Also at all the people talking about rooting your android device, don’t click that check box when you initially set up your phone, you know, the one that asks permission for Google to track your location.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386025",
"author": "8r13n",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T01:30:03",
"content": "Windows Mobile? Who cares, that’s a dead product. Does WP7 record your location?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386037",
"author": "Frogz",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T02:02:41",
"content": "take this all into your own hands and track your own phone(ok maybe not the same thing but still good!)http://www.antidroidtheft.com/anyone with a android phone should have this, it allows you to remotely track your phone, control it’s functions and even take pics from the camerafor free!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386050",
"author": "Justin Case",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T02:37:54",
"content": "i carry an iphone.It is not jail broken.If someone put trakking software like antidroidtheft, would it show up somewhere??I have 2 apps I installed, weather, & poynt.Since this I took the sim out, turned off wifi and have always keep “services” turned off.It’s in airplane mode right now.But it’s still tower trakking me right???",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386110",
"author": "m1ndtr1p",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T06:09:16",
"content": "The big difference here is that Android’s “tracking” is completely opt in, it’s the very first thing you are asked when you set up your phone… If you opt out, there is no data collection, tracking or transmitting done by Android itself whatsoever… Period.Apple’s tracking is NOT opt in, you cannot simply turn it off, hell people didn’t even know it was doing it until recently… And logging all your movements since you’ve been using iOS 4 to both your phone AND your backups on iTunes is ridiculous…The only reason people are pointing to Android now is because of those douchebag Apple fanboys at Gizmodo… They published false information regardless of how many times people said otherwise, and those who said otherwise got banned from commenting… They fabricate their own “news” and release it as fact, which it is obviously not.Plain and simple, Gizmodo is not a trustworthy tech blog, have you even read their so called articles lately?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386204",
"author": "Dug",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T11:07:25",
"content": "TLDR?From what I’ve read, iPhone keeps this data forever, though it is inaccurate.Android keeps it for just a couple of days.Location data is probably still sent to Apple and Google (they claim its for AGPS, etc). It is already shared with your mobile phone operator for use by police and emergency services.Apple admit they share this with partners.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386216",
"author": "Angry Voter",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T12:05:03",
"content": "There are several programs used by cryptofascists to subvert the US Constitution.One of them is InfraGuard.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/InfraGuardThe government promised preferential treatment to corporate officers and their families if they agreed to spy on employees and customers without court orders.If you’ve seen the contracts, they promise early warning, preferential evacuation, immunity from prosecution and other above the law treatment.People who did not immediately roll over have had roomers ruin their careers, false charges filed against them and even been found dead.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386244",
"author": "Stewart",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T13:32:25",
"content": "What happens when spyware is repurposed to look for the presence of this file in unencrypted iOS backups? I don’t care WHAT Apple is eventually going to do with the data once they start using it (and they *will* start using it one day, unless the outcry is great enough to force them to stop). They’re probably just going to use it to junk up the OS with location-specific advertising or something equally harmless-but-annoying. I worry more about what happens when the data is stolen by a third party.I’m not worried about myself, either — I can take precautions to prevent network intrusion and I can implement egress filtering on my home network to assure that the data doesn’t leave my house (through my networking infrastructure) unless I specifically authorize it to do so. But maybe 10% of the people reading these words have no idea what any of that means. On a non-technical website, that percentage probably refers to the number of people that DO understand. Apple’s “let them eat cake” attitude DEMANDS a revolution, or at the very least, a demonstration…<>",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386262",
"author": "derp",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T14:25:14",
"content": "Thank science that Android is Opensource and ROMs such as Cyanogenmod exist that removes crap like this. Nothing to cry about",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,205.395124
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/25/portal-turret-plushie-is-cute-and-harmless/
|
Portal Turret Plushie Is Cute And Harmless
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Arduino Hacks",
"chemistry hacks",
"Toy Hacks"
] |
[
"arduino",
"plushie",
"portal",
"toys",
"turret",
"video games"
] |
As many of you are probably aware, Portal 2 was released last week, and gamers have been going crazy over it. Over the years, people have constructed replicas of their favorite in-game items and “characters”, including portal guns, companion cubes, and turrets.
After playing Portal 2 for a bit, [Jonathan]
wanted a turret of his own quite badly
. Rather than construct it from hard plastics and resins however, he decided he wanted to construct a cuddly turret that talked.
With the assistance of his friend [Leigh Nunan], he is now the proud owner of a plushie turret. It’s a bit smaller than you might expect, but it is packed full of turret personality. The plushie plays audio from the game, can sense motion near its face, detect if it has been tipped over, and also knows when it has been picked up. [Jonathan] added all of these features by stuffing an Arduino inside the turret, along with a wave shield for playing sounds. Proximity and motion sensing are provided via a trio of different sensors, enabling the turret to behave in the same way its in-game brethren do (minus the machine guns).
It really is a neat little toy, one we would no doubt be glad to have around. Keep reading to see a short video of his plushie turret in action.
[vimeo
http://vimeo.com/22804972
w=470]
| 16
| 16
|
[
{
"comment_id": "385770",
"author": "Sobachatina",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T13:58:05",
"content": "That is inspirational! I want to make one.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385773",
"author": "CutThroughStuffGuy",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T14:08:04",
"content": "Something about that soft pink hole in the middle reminds me a bit too much of an artificial vagina. And it’s slightly creeping me out.And it also can’t be unseen.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385775",
"author": "JarFil",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T14:50:53",
"content": "They should take an example from this guy and start selling turrets like this.But I would add a shooting sound when detecting motion, and market it as “the perfect cubicle/bedroom defender” ;)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385776",
"author": "CB4",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T14:51:17",
"content": "@ CutThroughStuffGuyI really wish you hadn’t said that now i can’t look at it either.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385778",
"author": "Xb0xguru",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T15:01:19",
"content": "Umm, it looks nothing remotely like one. Either you’ve been out of action too long or…… :s",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385779",
"author": "Dave",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T15:01:36",
"content": "coolest furby ever.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385781",
"author": "Xb0xguru",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T15:04:07",
"content": "I WANT ONE.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385788",
"author": "Wiregeek",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T15:48:04",
"content": "looks more like a cat ass to me. a red, inflamed, cat ass.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385816",
"author": "hurt14",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T16:51:08",
"content": "I couldn’t hear MY favourite: “Target Lost” !Update!!!!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385822",
"author": "8bitg33k",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T17:06:33",
"content": "CutThroughStuffGuy, I must ask, HOW do you know what an artificial vagina looks like?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385833",
"author": "CutThroughStuffGuy",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T17:44:08",
"content": "I know what a vagina looks like. I have seen artifical vaginas before. How do you not know what an artifical vagina looks like is, I think, the better question ;)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385842",
"author": "NatureTM",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T18:03:08",
"content": "Uh, What? Seriously? That’s what you see? Do you think that every time you see a red circle? Because you’re not supposed to.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385862",
"author": "Haku",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T19:02:56",
"content": "Interesting, I got Portal 2 last Thursday and having been addicted to the first one I’ve completed the 2nd one 3 times now, the 3rd time with the commentary bubbles in the game, my brother found time to finish it too so we’re going to do some co-op playing soon.Anyway the sheer lack of merchandise from Valve over Portal (1 & 2) is quite frustrating, t-shirts & printed merchandise don’t cut it – we want some companion cubes and turret sentrys for our desks!With that in mind over the weekend I whipped up a test circuit on single breadboard for the innards of a turret sentry consisting of:Picaxe 18m2miniature PIR sensor modulediode from a cheap laser pointerred LEDs2 axis accelerometerhigh quality SD card stereo mp3 playback module3+3 watt stereo audio amplifiersmall speakersPerhaps adding a 38khz IR sensor for remote control of it instead adding extra buttons.My only real problem is fabricating a turret to put the electronics into, I’m better with a soldering iron than a saw…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385868",
"author": "Whatnot",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T19:20:22",
"content": "You should mention the portal t-shirt with the portal on it when recounting portal fanbuilds, that’s a classic.http://hackaday.com/?s=portal+t-shirt",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386215",
"author": "wardy",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T11:52:16",
"content": "This would make the ultimate desk toy. A small one would look great next to my coffee mug… lift the mug and “Target lost”. Replace the mug and “there you are!”.Genius, utter and absolute genius.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386406",
"author": "8bitg33k",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T18:46:48",
"content": "@CutThroughStuffGuy: No problem bro. You stick with your artificial one while I go with the real thing. I was just wondering how you made that bit-of-a-stretch connection ;) No offense my friend, each to their own.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,205.451838
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/24/adding-a-pedal-to-a-yamaha-dd35-drum-kit/
|
Adding A Pedal To A Yamaha DD35 Drum Kit
|
Caleb Kraft
|
[
"digital audio hacks",
"Musical Hacks"
] |
[
"drums",
"midi",
"upgrades"
] |
[Paul] Wrote in to tell us about a quick project that might be useful to others out there. He was having some problems with the DC jack on his Yamaha DD35 portable drum kit. Naturally, he did what most of us would do and just broke out the soldering iron and prepared to solder it back in place(hot glue it afterwards, that always helps too). That part isn’t a big deal, we’ve all seen it a million times. However, while inspecting the DC jack, he
noticed something silk screened on the board
right next to it. As it turns out, that was a kick pedal jack. After a few minutes hunting for a victim around the house that would be sacrificed for its plug, he got his hands on one. A few moments later he was jamming away with a kick pedal.
We absolutely love these super quick upgrades. [Paul] thought maybe this feature was left out at the last minute, and we’ve seen this type of thing for a number of reasons. Maybe that was a feature kept aside for a more expensive model, maybe there was some other reason it was left off. Frankly, we don’t care, we just think it is awesome that it works!
Stay with us to see a quick video demonstration.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXgQPAsuk98&w=470]
| 3
| 3
|
[
{
"comment_id": "385499",
"author": "Almost_There",
"timestamp": "2011-04-24T19:41:45",
"content": "This type of thing is fairly common. With early VCRs you could enable features that were on the higher priced model just by throwing DIP switches, or cutting traces.I considered getting a drum machine years ago (I forget the Model # now), and in doing research I found that you could add a Foot Pedal exactly as you described here to the lower priced model.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385559",
"author": "rusty",
"timestamp": "2011-04-24T23:02:36",
"content": "happpy zombie jesus day!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385780",
"author": "blue carbuncle",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T15:01:59",
"content": "Nice :) and great timing as I literally picked one of these up at the thrift for 2 bux this morning lol. Was gonna bend it anyway this rainy weekend, but now have a fun “warm up” project :) Thanks all!As others have said, this is fairly common amongst manufacturers. It seems silly to us to “dumb it down” but that is manufacturing and prohibitive? component cost to offer “variety” in models and pricing levels. -end captain obvious rant lolhttp://weltenschule.de/TableHooters/instruments.htmlthis fella has some wonderful info on all of those dinky lil circuit bender’s boards that are neato in their own right. He’s really got a fairly complete understanding of the incestuous manufacturing of them and chipsets that carry across lines and brands even :) It makes some insanely fun rainy day reading (and reminiscing of those dinky lil tunes) and provides great info on those chips for circuitbending.I’m currently working on finishing up an old Casio HT700. I need to get a new selector knob var resistor and plan on doing the filter/res mods and doing some LED/lighting stuff for wow factor. Currently, it is still having some power issues but I feel that is related to the VR i need to replace. Anyhoo, happy soldering all!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,205.496999
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/24/the-vibrotron/
|
The Vibrotron
|
Caleb Kraft
|
[
"Arduino Hacks",
"digital audio hacks",
"Musical Hacks"
] |
[
"music",
"pachinko"
] |
Behold
the Vibrotron
! Constructed by the Carnegie Melon University robotics club, the vibrotron is a piece of a larger project called the robOrchestra. The mechanics in action here are quite simple. You have two reservoirs of small steel balls. One at the bottom, one at the top. The bottom ones are fed to the top ones using an
Archimedes’ screw
. Once at the top, they are dispensed through some tubing down to plink off of a vibraphone key. All of the timing is done via solenoids mounted at the end of the tubes. The final product reminds us of the
Animusic animations
that were put out a few years ago.
For this system, since they wanted this to be an automated and reconfigurable bot, they are using an Arduino to control the solenoids. This way they can change songs as they please. We have to admit though, we’d love to see one where the timing for the song was all done through tube length or some other passive system allowing it to be hand cranked and purely mechanical.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y66-KiC_Qro&w=470]
[via
Make
]
| 18
| 18
|
[
{
"comment_id": "385440",
"author": "Woodstock",
"timestamp": "2011-04-24T16:16:06",
"content": "Gameletron will assimilated vibroton!! If vibrotron resists it will be destroyed!!!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385450",
"author": "Chish",
"timestamp": "2011-04-24T16:57:22",
"content": "Why is it just making a terrible noise instead of playing a song?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385453",
"author": "I Heart Robotics",
"timestamp": "2011-04-24T17:02:47",
"content": "Talented musical composers may want to check out the original story for information as to how to submit MIDI files for performance.http://www.iheartrobotics.com/2011/04/nrw2011-roborchestra.html",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385469",
"author": "buckwheat",
"timestamp": "2011-04-24T17:49:06",
"content": "I had hoped for something else",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385518",
"author": "Elias",
"timestamp": "2011-04-24T20:50:42",
"content": "I would think that the tubes are full of the balls as much as possible and the thing in the end of the tube is a solenoid controlled “valve” that let’s off one ball at a time.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385522",
"author": "justme2",
"timestamp": "2011-04-24T21:07:19",
"content": "Sounds like the screw adds too much noise to hear the music properly. I’d like to hear what it sounds like with that part off.Maybe they could change the shape of the bearing reservoir to isolate the screw from it, unless that wave action is there to keep the bearings from getting stuck in the hopper.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385523",
"author": "Aleks Clark",
"timestamp": "2011-04-24T21:07:23",
"content": "yes but why not angle the vibraphone keys inwards so the balls roll right into the bottom bucket?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385568",
"author": "zool",
"timestamp": "2011-04-24T23:43:18",
"content": "looks like something from animusic",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385579",
"author": "barry99705",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T00:25:14",
"content": "@zoolProbably why they mentioned it in the post.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385602",
"author": "Erik Johnson",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T02:28:50",
"content": "I was totall expecting animusic, instead I’m reminded of a pachinko parlor/slot machine row.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385610",
"author": "brad",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T02:58:03",
"content": "i’m really trying hard to recognize the song, but all i’m hearing is noise.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385644",
"author": "MrTaco",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T05:18:06",
"content": "It’s Mozart’s Turkish March. Go to around 0:50, you can hear the recognisable chorus part there.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385765",
"author": "StumpieMacGee",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T13:45:23",
"content": "We’re experiencing the same effect as not sitting in the “sweet spot” for a marching band. If they were to mic it in the center above this particular instrument, it would be more discernible. That doesn’t fix the noise, but this is still a very impressive concept (especially in light of the bigger picture). Kudos to CMU Robotics.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385782",
"author": "Swankie",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T15:05:44",
"content": "crappy recording with “auto-leveling”. they need to set the recording level manually beforehand, else it will amplify the random noise whenever theres a tiny bit of relative silence.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385790",
"author": "zengar",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T16:02:22",
"content": "@Aleks Clark: Probably angling the key’s inward would result in the balls bouncing off of each other/the screw, resulting in even more random noise.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385869",
"author": "Bruce Perens",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T19:22:17",
"content": "This looks very much like an instrument from Animusic’s piece “Pipe Dream”.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385878",
"author": "am_i_evil",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T19:51:19",
"content": "ex-term-in-ate!!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "413640",
"author": "Maruneagle",
"timestamp": "2011-07-06T09:12:01",
"content": "Those are Vibraphone keys. The worst thing you could possibly use to play those is metal. It would sound much better if you could get your hands on some rubber instead.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,205.553061
|
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