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https://hackaday.com/2011/03/02/earthquake-alert-system/ | Earthquake Alert System | Mike Szczys | [
"Linux Hacks",
"Microcontrollers"
] | [
"555",
"arm",
"earthquake",
"ethernet",
"LPCXpresso",
"usgs",
"xport"
] | [Roteno’s] submission for the 555 timer design contest is an
Internet connected earthquake alert system
. It monitors the
USGS website
for earthquake data and plays a tune when an earthquake occurs. The data is available as a feed in the form of a TXT file which is pretty easy to parse using cURL. He chose an
LPCXpresso board
(which is an ARM development platform that can run a Linux kernel) along with an XPORT module to handle the Ethernet traffic.
So where does the 555 timer see some action? It is responsible for playing the tone when an earthquake is detected. But playing just one pitch isn’t much fun. Instead, [Roteno] built the circuit above which creates a resistor network switched by a series of transistors. This way he can use GPIO from the microcontroller to choose different pitches. Check out the video after the break to hear the results. At power-up all eight pitches are played as a test, and the alert sound varies in pitch and tempo based on the magnitude of the earthquake.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NgK3yluhNo&w=470] | 15 | 15 | [
{
"comment_id": "346347",
"author": "Stendall",
"timestamp": "2011-03-02T18:24:46",
"content": "I don’t think this project is much built around 555.You can take out the 555, replace with a endless list of integrated circuit and it will be more/less the same.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
... | 1,760,377,261.784939 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/03/02/bathroom-mirror-hud-displays-time-and-weather/ | Bathroom Mirror HUD Displays Time And Weather | Mike Nathan | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"home hacks",
"LED Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"hud",
"led",
"mirror"
] | By and large, the standard household mirror is one item that has not made much real progress over the years. They hang on the wall reflecting light, and that’s about it.
A few years back, some students studying in the Department of Interaction Design at Chalmers University sought to enhance their morning routine
with an interactive mirror
. Their project was constructed using a two-way mirror with several Arduino-driven LED displays embedded behind the glass. Once a hand is swiped past the pair of embedded light dependent resistors, the display is activated. Subsequent hand swipes trigger the mirror to toggle between the different modes, providing the user with the current time, weather information as well as a toothbrush timer.
The project writeup is quite thorough, including plenty of source code and information on some of the components they used. You can take a look at their work
here
(PDF).
Check out the
interactive mirror we featured
that served as inspiration for their project.
[Thanks Emil]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8Ikw2zmeJM&w=470] | 18 | 17 | [
{
"comment_id": "346307",
"author": "mike",
"timestamp": "2011-03-02T16:14:52",
"content": "thats pretty cooli bet you can attach it to a scale on the floor to show your weight.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "346308",
"author": "ss",
"t... | 1,760,377,262.079715 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/03/02/open-source-laser-cutter-v2/ | Open Source Laser Cutter (v2) | Kevin Dady | [
"Laser Hacks",
"News",
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"laser cutter",
"open source"
] | The Buildlog.net 2.x Laser is a second generation
open source laser cutter
that definitely improves the design of the first model. The 2 axis machine (optional vertical axis is manual or an upgrade is available) boasts a large 12” x 20” x 4” workspace while being smaller than its predecessor, fitting a table top design.
The older model had a goal of being self replicating, which limited the types of materials used, the new 2.x model drops that goal and uses stronger metal parts. Electronics are now modularized that allow easier and cleaner wiring, though you will still need a controller board.
There is an XMOS based controller provided on the main page of
BuildLog.net
, along with mechanical drawings, schematics, gerbers, instructions for both machines, and kit parts (for the first model) along with resources for the heavy items like laser tubes and power supplies. | 23 | 23 | [
{
"comment_id": "346291",
"author": "Johannes",
"timestamp": "2011-03-02T15:35:37",
"content": "Totally cool. And it’s ‘buildlog.net’, not ‘www.buildlog.net’.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "346295",
"author": "Johannes",
"timestamp": "2... | 1,760,377,261.677853 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/03/02/drunkennes-makes-a-game-out-of-getting-hammered/ | DrunkenNES Makes A Game Out Of Getting Hammered | Mike Nathan | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"Beer Hacks",
"Nintendo Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"breathalyzer",
"game",
"nes",
"nintendo"
] | While handheld breathalyzers are pretty novel to have around while drinking with friends, there’s nothing exciting about a $50 off the shelf unit. If you really want to grab people’s attention, you have to get creative and built something
like [Batsly Adams] and his friends did
.
One evening, he was casually drinking with some friends and playing around with an electronic alcohol sensor. They quickly put together a NES ROM that would play sounds, changing the pitch depending on how much alcohol the sensor detected. It quickly became apparent to them that a full-fledged breathalyzer video game was in order. In no time, he and his friends had compiled graphics, a soundtrack, and the code to drive their game, DrunkenNES.
To play the game, each player must blow into a gutted NES cartridge that has been fitted with the alcohol sensor. The Nintendo computes the player’s BAC, reporting how intoxicated they are using simple graphics and cheesy animal puns. We don’t know when the code and schematics will be made available, but when they are, you can guarantee we will be building one for “research” purposes to pair with our
Power Hour shot glass
.
Keep reading to see some in game video of DrunkenNES
[Thanks Adam]
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/20441801 w=470]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYNoPeRqidY&w=470] | 5 | 5 | [
{
"comment_id": "346304",
"author": "nafkin",
"timestamp": "2011-03-02T16:11:00",
"content": "Making alcohol poisoning fun!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "346389",
"author": "Tim",
"timestamp": "2011-03-02T19:52:35",
"content": "The... | 1,760,377,262.161762 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/03/02/gameduino/ | Gameduino | Kevin Dady | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"Microcontrollers"
] | [
"fpga",
"game",
"vga"
] | Gameduino is an FPGA based
sound and graphics adapter
for microcontrollers. Laid out as an Arduino shield, all it really takes is a microcontroller with SPI and some code to send commands to the board which lets you toggle registers, handle memory, and drawing functions.
Once the data gets there, it is greeted by a
Xilinx FPGA which puts out a 800×600 72Hz SVGA sync signal, large 512×512 pixel character scrolling backgrounds, piles of 16×16 (up to 256 color) sprites, each with per pixel transparency, rotation, flip, and if that was not enough a 12 bit frequency synth that can do 16 independent voices.
All the resources to make one of these is listed on the site under the
Making a Gameduino
link, but if youre interested in getting a made board there is also a
kickstarter page available
. There are other ways to squeeze video out of micro controllers
from the basic like
hackvision
to
AVGA
or even Lucidscience
AVR VGA v2,
and tons of propeller projects, but this one being stand alone and portable, has a certain appeal.
Join us after the break for a quick video.
[youtube=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWn-6FB4cNQ&w=450%5D | 19 | 19 | [
{
"comment_id": "346244",
"author": "Doc Oct",
"timestamp": "2011-03-02T13:39:14",
"content": "But does it do hardware transform and lighting?Is this the first video accelerator for a modern microcontroller?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "34625... | 1,760,377,261.840468 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/03/01/old-school-led-light-show/ | Old School LED Light Show | Mike Nathan | [
"classic hacks",
"LED Hacks"
] | [
"eprom",
"led",
"old school"
] | Building LED arrays that can display all sorts of different patterns is pretty easy these days. Hook up an Arduino, do some charlieplexing, and off you go. When [Viktor] was younger he didn’t have all those fancy schmancy microcontrollers and circuit simulation software you kids have these days. In fact, last we heard, he had to walk to school uphill both ways – in the snow.
That didn’t stop him from building
this gem of a project back in 1987
. His LED chaser/light show does not use any microcontrollers at all, rather it relies on an EPROM to store predefined display programs. A series of switches are installed on the front of the flasher, allowing him to easily switch between the programs, and a pot is mounted to the front of the device to control the speed of the LEDs.
His light show is pretty slick, even for a project built over 20 years ago. Sometimes you just can’t beat a good, old-school hack.
Continue reading for a video demonstration of [Viktor’s] programmable light show.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcoXSnfaNaQ&w=470] | 20 | 20 | [
{
"comment_id": "345718",
"author": "Jac Goudsmit",
"timestamp": "2011-03-01T22:26:25",
"content": "What?No 555?(Imitating “You built a time machine… out of a DeLorean???”) you used two transistors… to generate a clock pulse???Nice job!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},... | 1,760,377,261.733852 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/28/web-enabling-your-smoke-breaks/ | Web-enabling Your Smoke Breaks | Mike Szczys | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"cigarette",
"perl",
"smoker",
"smoking"
] | If you’re going to freeze your butt off smoking in the middle of winter you might was well have company while you’re out there. [Zach’s] company wanted to crunch some data about smoking breaks and worker productivity. Instead of just meeting the bland data collection needs he decided to add functionality.
He took time to explain
the different parts of the system. Above you can see the web interface that lets you know which of your coworkers are smoking right now. It also lets you click to check in and out from your breaks. After this was up and running he found that often the smokers forgot to ‘clock out’ before a break. As a backup system he build a physical interface on the way out of the office. Each smoker has their own button with a corresponding LED. If the light’s on you’re having a break and when it’s off you’re working. This controller is Arduino based and uses a Perl script to monitor the input and sync both that physical display and the web interface. [Zach]
posted a few pictures
if you want to take a look at the rest of the system. | 21 | 21 | [
{
"comment_id": "344766",
"author": "zing",
"timestamp": "2011-02-28T21:33:49",
"content": "Can I get a “not smoking but I pretend to so I can slack every two hours” button?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "344767",
"author": "fred",
"tim... | 1,760,377,261.61592 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/28/giant-oscilloscope-music-display/ | Giant Oscilloscope Music Display | Mike Nathan | [
"Video Hacks"
] | [
"music",
"oscilloscope",
"video"
] | [Andrew] sent us a
video of his home made oscilloscope wall
, which he uses to visualize different audio tracks he has created. The wall is made up of nine old broadcast monitors he wired together in his studio. At first it appears that the monitors are split into two sets of four, with the center monitor running separately, but upon further inspection it looks as if he can control the display of each monitor independently.
We’re pretty sure he is not using an actual oscilloscope to generate the visuals, but rather visualization software that can approximate the output of an O-scope set in X-Y display mode. Though the screens run independently, it would be great to see all nine screens working in concert to display one large visualization. [Andrew] mentions that an high-def version is in the works, so perhaps we’ll see more features added in that iteration.
Stick around to watch a video of his oscilloscope wall in motion.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-1zF0ofqRk&w=470] | 9 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "344755",
"author": "phisrow",
"timestamp": "2011-02-28T21:11:38",
"content": "Given that those are all CRTs, I strongly suspect that he is neither using a ‘scope(in the conventional sense) nor using any software.Open a CRT TV: notice the X and Y control yokes around the electron gun... | 1,760,377,261.979369 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/28/crank-arm-style-hexapod/ | Crank-arm Style Hexapod | Kevin Dady | [
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"Aluminum Robot",
"bs2",
"hexapod",
"L298"
] | The latest robot out of Nolebotic is Al.I.S.E, or
Aluminum, Infrared Scanning Entity
. Don’t let the name fool you, its a pretty simple take on the classic hexapod walking platform using a crank arm and leavers made into the legs.
The body of the robot is made out of aluminum which is pretty easy to work with at home, lightweight, and sturdy. Bolted to the body are a pair of beefy gear head motors, a 9.6 volt rechargeable battery pack, along with a basic stamp 2 and its own 9 volt supply, and a
Solarbotics 1198 CMD driver board
.
Obstacles are handled right now with rudimentary infrared detectors and emitters, but it seems to work pretty good avoiding some library books in the demo. Combine that with clean mechanics and a pretty good stride and this thing can get up and move pretty quick. | 1 | 1 | [
{
"comment_id": "347135",
"author": "GameboyRMH",
"timestamp": "2011-03-03T16:03:01",
"content": "Looks like it moves in the same way as a Hexbug:http://www.hexbug.com/originalThose things actually only use one motor, in one direction it moves the bug forward, in the other direction it only engages ... | 1,760,377,262.119505 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/28/quick-and-easy-diy-kegerator/ | Quick And Easy DIY Kegerator | Mike Nathan | [
"Beer Hacks",
"home hacks"
] | [
"beer",
"kegerator"
] | I think we can all agree, there are few things that go better with
hacking
everything than beer. [Tom] has taken his love for beer and building things,
fusing them together in a DIY kegerator
. Using an off the shelf mini fridge and some easy to find beer serving components, he walks us through the conversion step by step. When everything is said and done, the kegerator should hold two 5-gallon kegs along with the CO2 tank required to serve the beer.
The process is admittedly pretty easy, but it’s probably the quickest way to go from zero to kegerator. [Tom] has this down to a science, knowing exactly what needs to be altered and removed, so following his tutorial should save you time and headaches, should you attempt this conversion yourself.
It would be great to see this project expanded to include
precision temperature controls
, a method of determining how much beer remains in the kegs. | 17 | 17 | [
{
"comment_id": "344669",
"author": "medix",
"timestamp": "2011-02-28T19:17:55",
"content": "You know, for $249 you can buy a decent 7 cu. ft chest freezer and achieve the same results with room for more than 2 kegs.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id... | 1,760,377,262.029856 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/28/santa-pede-contest-winners/ | Santa-pede Contest Winners | Caleb Kraft | [
"News"
] | [
"contest",
"prizes",
"santa"
] | We received several fantastic entries. We laughed, we cried, we stared at our monitors in confusion, it was fantastic. Now we’re here to announce the winners of the Santa-Pede contest.
If you recall, the rules were pretty simple. Aquire a dancing santa (or other holiday dancing annoying toy thingy in the same fashion), tear it apart, build something that walks out of the pieces. We were aware that most of these have a very similar setup with one or two servos and a bit of plastic. That way everyone has a similar starting point. We were amazed at what was done with so little.
Keep reading to find out who one each of the three categories: Most over-done, best walker with no extra parts, and best presentation.
Winner of Best walker
, only using the parts available was [Joshua Jackson].
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJWKxHpJ6i8&w=470]
He didn’t add any additional parts and managed to get a nice gait out of it. Great job. [Joshua] will be receiving a
Minty Boost
and a
Hackaday T-shirt
.
Winner of Best Presentation
, with his
Franken-santa
was [Jonathan Thompson].
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0FQl_ufDUs]
His writeup was detailed and well photographed and he took the time to decorate his santa to stand out in a crowd. He’ll be receiving a
Drawdio
and a
Hackaday t-shirt
.
Winner of Most Over-done
, with his amazing show of effort and tenacity was
[Adam Outler] and his raging santa
.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J77CKDWHwD0&w=470]
[Adam] went all out on this one. Starting with a quick walker that actually did pretty well and then going on to add a microcontroller with a nice web interface, allowing control from his android phone. His santa has not only the ability to walk, but also a “rampage mode” where he rages around firing his rocket launcher and can’t be stopped till you cut the power. Great job [Adam], you absolutely kicked this competition’s ass.
[Adam] will be receiving
The Brain Machine
, as well as a
Hackday Shirt
and an
LED Shirt with glowing bulb
.
There were other entrants, and we loved them all even if they did fail, so we’re sending them all
hackaday stickers
. Here are some for you to enjoy:
[Mike] who didn’t manage to get it to walk, but
had fun trying
.
[Jon] Who ended up with a pretty
interesting design
.
[budgethack] who’s entry was
close in tie for best walker
. His had several of us cracking up.
[Bluewraith]
didn’t get very far
either, but at least he tried!
[Osgeld]’s
hilarious build
had us all rolling on the floor and would have been a contender, but we hired him as a writer and he was immediately disqualified and beaten with a cat o’ nine tails. | 15 | 13 | [
{
"comment_id": "344643",
"author": "NatureTM",
"timestamp": "2011-02-28T18:37:32",
"content": "Congrats winners! I hope the “Brain Machine” doesn’t send [Adam] into rampage mode.I guess congrats are in order for you too [Osgeld]. I’ve definitely noticed you make some quality comments. I hope you... | 1,760,377,262.219304 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/28/a-trio-of-last-minute-555-timer-projects/ | A Trio Of Last-minute 555 Timer Projects | Mike Nathan | [
"contests",
"digital audio hacks"
] | [
"555 timer",
"amplifier",
"h-bridge",
"servo"
] | [Bob] has been busy lately putting the finishing touches on
three
different
projects
that he plans on entering into the
555 Design Contest
.
His first entry is a low-power H-bridge, which can be used to drive small servos. While he admits that it is a bit odd to build use a 555 timer to construct an H-bridge, they are cheap and plentiful enough to justify their use. Check out the video below to see the simple H-bridge controlling a servo.
[Bob’s] second entry is quite a bit more complex than his H-bridge. His secret knock detector listens for a pattern of knocks, triggering a relay if the proper cadence is detected. If a knock is heard, the first 555 timer starts, listening for another knock within a specific time range. If a knock is heard during this period, the next timer is triggered, and the process is repeated. Subsequent knocks must be timed correctly, or the circuit halts, waiting for a reset timer to expire before listening is resumed. It’s a bit hard to get the knocks just right, but that should be fixable with a few small tweaks.
The third entry he sent us is a project that is pretty common, though with a somewhat uncommon implementation. Class D amplifiers are often built as low-power headphone amps for personal audio applications. He liked the idea of a Class D amplifier, but wanted to build something with enough power to listen to his music in a small room. To accomplish this task, he looked over the internal block schematics of a 555 timer and constructed a pair of high-power 555 timers himself, using discrete components to mimic those usually found in the 555 package. His results were decent, though admittedly not of the highest quality, and could be tweaked a bit to provide better sound fidelity.
Continue reading to see videos of each project in action.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnnnFyLi88s&w=470]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfnAwhaTEQs&w=470]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkLJAFKBm5g&w=470] | 5 | 5 | [
{
"comment_id": "344630",
"author": "bikerstop",
"timestamp": "2011-02-28T18:20:04",
"content": "Yeah, good work. But you will look stupid knocking the door all the time just to remind yourself the secret pattern…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": ... | 1,760,377,262.546 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/28/alien-life-form-synth-toy/ | Alien Life Form Synth Toy | Mike Nathan | [
"contests",
"Musical Hacks",
"Toy Hacks"
] | [
"555 timer",
"contest",
"synth"
] | We were sent [Dr. Offset’s] most recent project, a kid’s toy that is
half sculpture/half noisemaker, but 100% cool
. The device uses several 555 Timers and is his entry into the
555 Design Contest
, which wraps up in just a few days. To really enjoy his creation, you need to suspend disbelief for a moment, and indulge the space fantasy he creates. In other words, let yourself be a kid again, if only for a few minutes.
What he has built is a containment unit for an alien life form found during an outer space exploratory mission. The creature has fused its organic bits with electronic components in order to survive in the stark, empty world it used to call home. The containment unit allows you to zap the “bug” with various frequencies to see how it reacts. The “bug” is light sensitive, so it always offers a varying experience, day or night.
It’s definitely one of the most artistically creative entries into the 555 Design Contest we have seen yet. Continue reading to see a thorough walkthrough and demonstration of his project.
[Thanks Rich Decibels]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZffdRYc8xqc&w=470] | 12 | 12 | [
{
"comment_id": "344576",
"author": "Christopher",
"timestamp": "2011-02-28T16:46:26",
"content": "Pretty imaginative backstory and nice use of built-in resistance in 555s!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "344586",
"author": "Kira",
"time... | 1,760,377,262.437992 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/28/2-bit-full-adder-using-just-thirty-six-555-timers/ | 2-bit Full Adder Using Just Thirty Six 555 Timers | Mike Szczys | [
"classic hacks"
] | [
"555",
"full adder",
"npn",
"pnp"
] | This
2-bit adder
was a lot of work to build. It uses a total of thirty-six 555 timers and it does have the option of adding or subtracting numbers. It’s a rather unorthodox use of the part, depending more on the chip as an inverter and taking advantage of the fact that there’s an NPN transistor built into it. [cpu86] did use some PNP transistors to give him the ability to turn off some of the 555’s to get everything working correctly.
He explains the use of two’s complement in the subtracting feature but the process is just touched on very quickly. Luckily there’s a huge eagle schematic available with his project writeup so that you can follow along and really grasp how this thing works. We’ve generated a PNG and embedded it after the break for your convenience. You’ll find it just after the two videos of the device in action.
Adding:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Kh4aoMjkt8&w=470]
Subtracting:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-QBj1tZYIQ&w=470]
Schematic:
[Thanks Paul] | 12 | 10 | [
{
"comment_id": "344524",
"author": "bogdan",
"timestamp": "2011-02-28T15:06:08",
"content": "Great work…. lots of 555s. He beat me up, i only used 20 in my project :(",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "344529",
"author": "Moggie100",
"time... | 1,760,377,262.59563 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/28/reverse-engineering-shopping-cart-security/ | Reverse Engineering Shopping Cart Security | Mike Szczys | [
"Radio Hacks",
"Security Hacks"
] | [
"caps",
"carttronics",
"oscilloscope",
"shopping cart"
] | All this talk about 555 timers is causing projects to pop out of the woodwork like this one that
reverse engineers a shopping cart security mechanism
. The wheel seen above listens for a particular magnetic signal and when encountered it locks down the yellow cowl, preventing the wheel from touching the ground and making the cart very hard to move.
[Nolan Blender] acquired one of these wheels for testing purposes and he’s posted some details about the hardware inside. But the first thing he did was to put together some test equipment to help find out details about the signal that trips the mechanism. He connected a coil to an audio amplifier and walked around the market looking for strong signals. Once he found a few strong bursts with that equipment he grabbed an oscilloscope, hooked it to the coil, and made some measurements. He found an 8 kHz signal at a 50% duty cycle at 30 ms intervals (it would be hard to make a better case for why you need an oscilloscope).
With the specs in hand, [Nolan] grabbed two 555 timers, an audio amplifier, and a 200 turn antenna around a ferrite core to build his own locking mechanism. If you’re ever stopped short in the middle of the market, just look for the hacker at the end of the aisle holding the homemade electronics.
[
Photo source
]
[Thanks Colin] | 30 | 27 | [
{
"comment_id": "344492",
"author": "Mohonri",
"timestamp": "2011-02-28T14:09:58",
"content": "I seem to remember a similar story a few years back. The hacker in question actually built his antenna into his clothing, and walked around Target, pressing a button occasionally when standing near anothe... | 1,760,377,262.501886 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/28/kindle-3-powers-this-diy-led-light/ | Kindle 3 Powers This Diy LED Light | Mike Szczys | [
"LED Hacks"
] | [
"brass",
"epaper",
"kindle",
"light"
] | ePaper displays are easy on the eyes because there’s no flickering backlight to put strain on them. This is great until you’re trying to read in a dim environment. Of course Amazon will sell you a backlight that’s powered from the reader itself if you’re willing to pay. [Txoof] thought the price was a bit too high so
he built his own version
.
There are two pockets in the top of the Kindle reader for hooks to grab onto. Each has an electrical contact in it and together they provide about 4V of power. To patch into that source [Txoof] cut his own hooks from brass stock and mounted them onto a piece of basswood. He then cut and bent a hood from more of the brass stock to house the LEDs. A series of three of the white diodes draw their power from the hooks and shine onto to the display. As you can see this works just fine, but could benefit from just the right diffuser. | 1 | 1 | [
{
"comment_id": "345429",
"author": "Dege",
"timestamp": "2011-03-01T16:26:12",
"content": "wrong link the 29 of february exist only in leap years…actual link:http://hackaday.com/2011/02/29/kindle-3-powers-this-diy-led-light/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,262.75348 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/28/fabric-speaker/ | Fabric Speaker | Mike Szczys | [
"digital audio hacks"
] | [
"coil",
"fabric",
"magnet",
"speaker"
] | The theory behind speaker operation is pretty simple. There’s a coil that is attached to some type of diaphragm and a permanent magnet. When electrical signals pass through the coil a magnetic field is generated, and that field’s interaction with the permanent magnet causes the diaphragm to vibrate and create sound. But we’ve always assumed that the vibrating material must be stretched tight for this to work. [Hannah Perner-Wilson] proved us wrong by
making this speaker out of fabric
. It uses conductive tape as the coil on a heavy piece of canvas. The permanent magnet is resting on a table and for the demonstration the fabric is just laid on top.
Check out the video after the break to hear the sounds generated by this device as well as a design that uses conductive thread instead of tape. This gets us wondering if what we’re hearing is the result of the magnet vibrating against the tabletop? Let us know your thoughts, and if you’ve got any information about the paper-backed circuit (seen at 0:04 into the video) driving the speakers we’d love to hear about that too.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6P8DzEG_7A&w=470]
[Thanks Mowcius] | 20 | 20 | [
{
"comment_id": "344476",
"author": "elektrophreak",
"timestamp": "2011-02-28T13:37:24",
"content": "oh man, it works!very very cool!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "344478",
"author": "Jack Sprat",
"timestamp": "2011-02-28T13:41:21",
... | 1,760,377,262.812585 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/27/easy-to-build-rig-prevents-reflow-soldering-mishaps/ | Easy To Build Rig Prevents Reflow Soldering Mishaps | Mike Nathan | [
"hardware",
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"reflow",
"soldering",
"tools"
] | [Erich aka VK5HSE] performs quite a bit of solder reflow work, but has always been concerned about bumping his circuit boards once the solder has liquified and is ready to be removed from the heat source. He says that removing workpieces from toaster ovens often results in the unintentional jarring of a circuit board full of components sitting on molten solder, and
he wanted to find a solution
.
Using some off-the shelf components from a local hardware store, he built a rig that fits on top of a hot plate, allowing him to move hot circuit boards away from the heat source in a smooth controlled motion. The rig is pretty simple, not only preventing unwanted workpiece movement, but also making it easy to regulate the amount of time a circuit board is allowed to heat.
He suggests that his design is not absolutely ideal, and that it can easily be improved upon in several ways without adding significant cost to the project. | 33 | 33 | [
{
"comment_id": "344043",
"author": "Tomasito",
"timestamp": "2011-02-27T22:39:29",
"content": "You could move the hot plate instead of the PCB, just my $0.2.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "344055",
"author": "KebertXela",
"timestamp": ... | 1,760,377,262.954967 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/27/repair-parts-from-unlikely-sources/ | Repair Parts From Unlikely Sources | Mike Nathan | [
"home hacks"
] | [
"baby",
"followup",
"repair"
] | [Jay] sent us some details of a
quick fix for a baby swing he owns
, along with the unlikely place where he found replacement parts.
We showed you a pair of his creations earlier this week
, which you might recall. As luck would have it, the motor on the baby swing he modified burned out shortly after we featured his hack. Don’t worry – he didn’t break the swing when he hacked it, nor is there a Hack-a-Day curse. It’s purely coincidence, we swear!
The swing is about 7 years old so the burned out motor wasn’t that huge a surprise. After doing some research, it was looking like he would likely need to shell out $70-$100 for a replacement motor. He luckily stumbled upon a forum thread that said a motor from a cheap air freshener was a perfect match, so he gave it a shot. Sure enough, it was the same motor, but with more torque. All it took was $5 to get the swing up and running good as new.
It just goes to show that you never know useful common items can be until you take them apart to see what’s inside. | 39 | 38 | [
{
"comment_id": "343993",
"author": "yetihehe",
"timestamp": "2011-02-27T21:31:01",
"content": "$100 for such small weak motor? Does it have Ti-Rd-Yt core or what?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "344001",
"author": "MrX",
"timestamp": "2... | 1,760,377,262.887034 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/27/remote-phone-control-using-bluetooth-and-a-video-stream/ | Remote Phone Control Using Bluetooth And A Video Stream | Mike Nathan | [
"Cellphone Hacks",
"Video Hacks"
] | [
"bluetooth",
"camera",
"cell phones",
"internet"
] | Hack-a-Day reader [Bobbie] sent us a hack
that is an adaptation of the
automatic cell phone button pushing machine
we featured earlier this week. Inspired by that project, he challenged himself to construct a more efficient way to tackle the problem.
He started out in much the same fashion, pointing a camera at the phone in order to view the display remotely. The main thing he focused on to make his project unique was they way in which the buttons on the phone were activated. He was impressed by the mechanical button pressing rig, but thought it to be overly complicated. Instead, he decided to send button presses over Bluetooth to his phone which happened to be
AT+CKPD compatible
(PDF).
Not only that, his interface is quite impressive too. Originally planning to use the keyboard to send input to the phone, he changed course and programmed his video stream GUI to register mouse clicks instead. Now, when he clicks one of the phone’s buttons in the video display, the appropriate button press is sent to the phone – Awesome!
Keep reading to see a video of his remote phone interface, you’ll be glad you did.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HEqURMyqNA&w=470] | 19 | 19 | [
{
"comment_id": "343950",
"author": "Michael",
"timestamp": "2011-02-27T20:34:53",
"content": "I can do the exact same thing with my palm centro with pdareach with a quarter of the effort.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "343951",
"author": "... | 1,760,377,262.712459 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/27/amfm-sos-beacon-saves-your-bacon/ | AM/FM SOS Beacon Saves Your Bacon | Mike Nathan | [
"contests",
"Radio Hacks"
] | [
"555 timer",
"contest",
"safety"
] | [BadWolf] sent us a device called the “
Bacon Beacon
“, which is his
555 Design Contest
entry. In short, it’s a life-saving device that emits an S.O.S. signal in Morse code over both the AM and FM bands. The device uses five 555 timers to get the job done, each of them dedicated to a specific task. Three of the timers are used for clocking and Morse generation, while the remaining two are used to produce and transmit an audible signal over the air waves. Currently, the signal can be received about a mile away from the source, which would theoretically allow for a search and rescue team to locate you with a simple radio and directional antenna.
The current design is still a bit rough around the edges, but the final plans would have the circuit built into a flashlight-like device equipped with red and green signaling LEDs. It’s a clever project and would make for a great tool if you got lost while hiking, or in the event of a zombie apocalypse.
Stick around for a quick video of the Bacon Beacon in action, and swing by [BadWolf’s] site if you want to know why his project has such a strange moniker (hint: it’s not because it can “save your bacon”).
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zs1IMPv_wT4&w=470] | 26 | 25 | [
{
"comment_id": "343903",
"author": "Squirrel",
"timestamp": "2011-02-27T19:25:40",
"content": "mmmmBacon",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "343920",
"author": "West",
"timestamp": "2011-02-27T19:58:05",
"content": "That doesn’t sound l... | 1,760,377,263.652862 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/27/google-two-factor-authentication-in-a-wristwatch/ | Google Two-factor Authentication In A Wristwatch | Mike Nathan | [
"clock hacks",
"Security Hacks"
] | [
"chronos",
"google",
"security"
] | The Chronos watch from Texas Instruments is a handy little piece of hardware if placed in the right hands. If you are not familiar with the platform, it is marketed as a “wearable wireless development system that comes in a sports watch”. In plain English, it’s a wearable wireless MCU mated with a 96 segment LCD, that boasts an integrated pressure sensor and 3-axis accelerometer. It is capable of running custom firmware, which allows it to do just about anything you would like.
[Huan Trong] wanted to take advantage of Google’s new two-factor authentication, and
decided his Chronos would make a great fob
, since he would likely be wearing the watch most of the time anyhow. He put together some custom firmware that allows the watch to function as an authentication fob, providing the user with a valid Google passcode on command.
He does warn that the software is alpha code at best, stating that it doesn’t even allow the watch to keep time at the moment. We are definitely looking forward to seeing more code in the near future, keep up the great work!
Be sure to stick around to see a video of his watch in action.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpEpaI5fURQ&w=470] | 13 | 13 | [
{
"comment_id": "343899",
"author": "YaBa",
"timestamp": "2011-02-27T19:14:26",
"content": "Nice work! Finally putting my chronos to do something usefull :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "343923",
"author": "Anonymous",
"timestamp": "20... | 1,760,377,263.006876 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/27/layering-pinball-audio-using-parallel-wav-shields/ | Layering Pinball Audio Using Parallel WAV Shields | Mike Szczys | [
"Arduino Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"audio",
"nba hangtime",
"pinball",
"wav shield"
] | [Ed Zarick] is preparing his pinball project and wants to have authentic sound to go with the game play. The game is modeled after NBA Hangtime and in addition to music he also needs a wide range of sound effects to beef up the experience. To make this all happen at once he developed
a set of Arduino WAV shields controlled by an Arduino Mega
.
As you can see above, there are three ATmega328 chips which run the Arduino boot loader and each interface with one of the three green WAV shields. That set of chips listens for commands over and i2c protocol, and once they receive instructions they play can play the chosen file without affecting the other shields.
But to have the authentic sounds you first need to acquire the audio samples. [Ed] grabbed a ROM of the original video game and dumped all of the audio samples. From there it was a chore to listen to and catalog the sounds for SD card playback with the pinball version of the game. But it’s well worth the effort as the sound will end up tying the whole experience together.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEI5F_lRd6Q&w=470] | 26 | 26 | [
{
"comment_id": "343781",
"author": "Necromant",
"timestamp": "2011-02-27T17:31:56",
"content": "OMG! Couldn’t he have just taken some ARM that could handle all the layering? Or even some avr, but a dedicated IC? That would lower the cost and the effort to make this stuff…",
"parent_id": null,
... | 1,760,377,263.269247 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/27/all-band-receiver-hides-in-plain-sight/ | All-band Receiver Hides In Plain Sight | Mike Szczys | [
"Radio Hacks"
] | [
"diode detector",
"fm",
"RF"
] | This handheld radio has a little secret. You’re not going to be able to listen to Limbaugh since the original FM tuning circuit has been removed and replaced by a diode detector. Now [Miguel A. Vallejo] a
discreet way to look for interesting radio signals
in public.
The first step that he took was to remove the circuit board from the case and depopulate the tuning circuit while leaving the audio amplifier hardware. Next he referenced
a proven design
and built the diode detector circuit on a piece of protoboard. Finally he patched the new circuit into the original audio amplifier (seen in the image above) and put everything back in the case. Now he can listen in on data burst from a keypress on a computer keyboard, RF data communications, and slew of other noise sources.
This would be really handy for tracking down
the electrical noise that’s screwing up your project
.
[Thanks Superlopez] | 17 | 17 | [
{
"comment_id": "343739",
"author": "ejonesss",
"timestamp": "2011-02-27T16:25:52",
"content": "if you are into paranormal investigation that could be used as an emf and possibly evp detector.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "343742",
"author... | 1,760,377,263.207905 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/27/hackaday-links-february-27-2011/ | Hackaday Links: February 27, 2011 | Mike Szczys | [
"Hackaday links"
] | [
"9v",
"flat screen",
"tennis ball",
"visor"
] | Odd project materials
[Juliansr] wrote in to tell us about
a site that sells bendable, moldable, stretchable, and other ‘able’ materials
you might want to use in your next project.
(2 * 9V) = Flashlight
[Lasse] built
a flashlight with two 9V batteries
. One is a normal battery, the other has been gutted and is used as a connector and enclosure for an LED and resistor.
Ghetto flat screen mount
Don’t despair if you can’t afford a mounting bracket for that new flat screen. All you really need is
a few screws and some garbage ties
.
Tennis ball stand
This crafty solution to charging a phone
makes sure that you’re also able to read the display. Since tennis balls lose their pressurization over time it’s a good use for the flat orbs.
Message visor
Get your message across while blocking your view of… everything with this
message displaying visor
. It’s like a Daft Punk helmet without the helmet. | 16 | 16 | [
{
"comment_id": "343704",
"author": "0.zer0",
"timestamp": "2011-02-27T15:31:47",
"content": "I don’t think I’ll be trying that $2 wall mount anytime soon….0_o",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "343717",
"author": "qwerty",
"timestamp": "20... | 1,760,377,263.38629 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/26/analog-robotic-concepts/ | Analog Robotic Concepts | Mike Szczys | [
"classic hacks",
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"555",
"analog",
"robotics",
"servo"
] | Everyone’s getting on board with the 555 timer projects. But [Tom] didn’t just come up with one project, he shared
a slew of ideas related to analog robotics
. They’re center around servo motor control. You can see in the video after the break he has a pleasing way of sharing a lot of details while also making an easy to view demonstration video. He’ll put up a schematic for about one second and then move on, saving those that don’t care about the details by not droning on.
The first schematic that flashes by is the main circuit for controlling the servo motor. The rest of the concepts build from this circuit, using light, sound, flex, and other sensors as inputs. For instance, the setup above is using a light sensor. When the ball blocks the light the servo moves that vertical rod hitting it out of the way. When it swings back the process repeats. It’s striking how lifelike the reactions are, reminding us of insect movements. But this is really just the tip of the iceberg as he’s got a lot of future video ideas that we can’t wait to see.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXeSsevsNNE&w=470]
[Thanks Jeri] | 20 | 19 | [
{
"comment_id": "342910",
"author": "Ghettoboi",
"timestamp": "2011-02-26T20:19:30",
"content": "a cracking instruction there on a fundamental problem that has tied up some of a amateur robotics guys up here in hull, england. cheers.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
... | 1,760,377,263.326166 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/26/boom-goes-the-dynamite-murals-made-with-precision-explosives/ | Boom Goes The Dynamite – Murals Made With Precision Explosives | Mike Nathan | [
"News"
] | [
"art",
"explosives"
] | [Alexandre Farto] is known for some off the wall art displays, but his
newest work takes the phrase literally
. Using precisely placed explosive charges, he has been sculpting portraits and other murals on walls in various places around London.
The detail at which he is able to produce these images is incredible, considering he is blowing chunks of plaster and brick from walls to form them. We can only guess as to how much preparation time is required to finish even one of these images, let alone to amass the stunning portfolio he has put together.
He has also recently teamed up with musical artist [Orelha Negra] to produce a cool video of his work as it was being sculpted, which is certainly worth the three minutes it takes to watch. The video, embedded below, is chock full of slow-motion shots of the demolition/sculpting in progress.
If you have a few minutes, be sure to check out his site to take a look at some of his work, we think you will be impressed.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6FU1Fvn9Nk&w=470] | 47 | 47 | [
{
"comment_id": "342835",
"author": "Jordan",
"timestamp": "2011-02-26T18:37:40",
"content": "what is this i don’t evenOh wait, I do. This is AWESOME!!!!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "342839",
"author": "IH8Taggers",
"timestamp": "2011... | 1,760,377,263.471894 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/24/video-projector-from-an-old-single-slide-unit/ | Video Projector From An Old Single-slide Unit | Mike Szczys | [
"Video Hacks"
] | [
"lcd",
"mp4",
"projector",
"slide"
] | Here’s
a video projector
that [Matt] hacked together. He needed a small and inexpensive solution to use with his R2D2 build. As you can see in the video after the break, it has no problem playing back the Princess’ distress call. But even if R2D2 is not one of the droids you’re looking for, we think this can be useful in other ways. One use that pops into mind is for
projector-based Halloween displays
.
As with
past projector hacks
, all you really need to pull this off is a light source, an LCD screen on which you can playback video, and a lens to focus the light onto a screen. Usually the LCD is the most expensive part of the project and building an enclosure to the correct dimensions can be a bit difficult. [Matt’s] solution was to use an MP4 knockoff media player. The rest of the setup is a ’50s era slide projector. The screen from the media player is about the same size as a single film slide, so he removed the screen from the case and put it where the slides go.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seKHgC4qkDY&w=470] | 21 | 21 | [
{
"comment_id": "341304",
"author": "Dubmuffin",
"timestamp": "2011-02-25T01:34:25",
"content": "Built a unit identical to this back in 1996; only problem is that the contrast of the LCD drops as the temperature increases. At operating temperature, the colors are so washed out as to be useless.",
... | 1,760,377,263.530934 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/24/555-two-fer-baby-swing-upgrade-and-a-headphone-tube-amp/ | 555 Two-fer – Baby Swing Upgrade And A Headphone Tube Amp | Mike Nathan | [
"home hacks",
"Musical Hacks"
] | [
"555 timer",
"contest",
"tube amp"
] | [Jason] sent in
two 555 timer driven items
that were worth sharing, both of which are entries in the
555 Design Contest
.
The first item is a circuit that automatically resets an infant swing. [Jay], who built both items, has an infant swing for his daughter that spins a mobile and plays music. It’s great but it only works for 7 minutes and 15 seconds before a button push is required to trigger it again. He found this limitation to be annoying, and as I have owned the same swing, I can echo his frustrations. He probed the swing and found that a 5v pulse was required to reactivate the mobile, but it had to be sent after it turned off to have any effect. He put together a simple circuit that would do the button pushing for him, as you can see in the video below.
[Jay’s] other entry is a headphone tube amp using a quartet of 6DJ8 vacuum tubes. The 555 timer in the amp is used to drive a FET and the hand-wound transformer he built for the amp. You can see a video of the amp in action below as well.
The projects are lacking a thorough write-up, but he does provide schematics for both the swing reset switch and the tube amp for those looking to replicate either item.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ia1MWpvGH14&w=470]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0YETPNYan8&w=470] | 22 | 21 | [
{
"comment_id": "341263",
"author": "eldorel",
"timestamp": "2011-02-25T00:29:37",
"content": "OK, the second one is kinda cool, but i’ve done the swing hack using nothing more than a switch, a capacitor, and a normally closed relay.Connect a capacitor on the motor line to provide a constant signal ... | 1,760,377,263.590673 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/24/debugging-msp430-using-eclipse/ | Debugging MSP430 Using Eclipse | Mike Szczys | [
"Microcontrollers"
] | [
"debug",
"eclipse",
"msp430"
] | [Springuin] just posted a tutorial about
debugging MSP430 projects using Eclipse
. He read our feature about
debugging under IAR
, a proprietary IDE which TI offers as a code-limited freebie with the TI Launchpad. In that writeup we wondered if anyone would put together a tutorial using open source tools like DDD and GDB to make debugging easier for those that choose to use operating systems other than Windows. Even though he didn’t directly use those particular packages, this should work just as well.
Eclipse is a popular IDE for many different languages like C, C++, Java, and others. We’ve already seen it
used to develop for the TI Evalbot on Linux systems
. [Springuin] is using the Java-based IDE on a Windows system, and this is the first time we recall seeing directions on using an open-source alternative for programming with the TI Launchpad under Windows. That being said, the only real Windows specific parts are the steps necessary for communicating with the programmer. Since this method uses MSP-GCC and msp430-gdbproxy, it should be easy to do this under Linux as well.
Use our tutorial
to set up those tools if you haven’t already, then follow this one for a setting up and debugging in the Eclipse environment. | 8 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "341273",
"author": "BLuRry",
"timestamp": "2011-02-25T00:45:09",
"content": "This is great stuff! Thank you!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "341326",
"author": "gdogg",
"timestamp": "2011-02-25T02:43:55",
"content":... | 1,760,377,263.691212 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/24/der-wafflemeister-3000/ | Der Wafflemeister 3000 | Mike Nathan | [
"home hacks",
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"food",
"robots",
"waffles breakfast"
] | When people think about robots, a few different things come to mind. We like robots because they take care of tedious work. Robots are great for accomplishing tasks in hazardous environments too. When the [Chalmers Robotics Society] thinks about robots however, they think, “Breakfast!”
The CRS constructed a sweet automatic waffle cooking machine
known as the Wafflemeister3000
. It can produce up to 5 waffles at a time, cooking them to a nice golden brown in a little over 3 minutes. Think about that for a second – that’s about 90 waffles an hour!
This project isn’t exactly new, with the second iteration having been completed in 2007. However, since the third version features a 400% increase in production volume, we thought it was worth a mention.
Be sure to check out the video below of the Wafflemeister3000 doing its thing.
[via Neatorama]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZanPRxK90Sc&w=470] | 19 | 19 | [
{
"comment_id": "341156",
"author": "Paul",
"timestamp": "2011-02-24T22:39:45",
"content": "Next version they can add a robot to wipe the dripping cup. If they create a robot to consume the waffles though they’ve gone too far!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"... | 1,760,377,263.74771 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/24/vanishing-point-robot-guidance/ | Vanishing Point Robot Guidance | Mike Szczys | [
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"vanishing point",
"visually impaired",
"webcam"
] | Students at the National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences in Pakistan have been working on
a robot to assist the visually impaired
. It looks pretty simple, just a mobile base that carries a laptop and a webcam. The bot doesn’t have a map of its environment, but instead uses vanishing point guidance. As you can see in the image above, each captured frame is analyzed for indicators of perspective, which can be extrapolated all the way to the vanishing point where the green lines above intersect. Here it’s using stripes on the floor, as well as the corners where the walls meet the ceiling to establish these lines. From the video after the break you can see that this method works, and perhaps with a little bit of averaging they could get the bot to drive straight with less zig-zagging.
Similar work on vanishing point navigation
is being done at the University of Minnesota. [Pratap R. Tokekar’s] robot can also be seen after the break, zipping along the corridor and even making turns when it runs out of hallway.
NUCES Pakistan visually impaired guide robot:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2H9LhJ46Hw&w=470]
University of Minnesota offering:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nb0VpSYtJ_Y&w=470] | 15 | 15 | [
{
"comment_id": "341035",
"author": "MS3FGX",
"timestamp": "2011-02-24T21:25:29",
"content": "That is the kind of thing that is both absolutely brilliant and extremely obvious once you see it in practice.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "341036",... | 1,760,377,263.799824 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/24/machine-pushes-cellphone-buttons-from-anywhere-in-the-world/ | Machine Pushes Cellphone Buttons From Anywhere In The World | Mike Szczys | [
"Cellphone Hacks",
"classic hacks"
] | [
"camera",
"internet",
"servo"
] | [Mok Young Bacq] works on the weekends for mobile game monitoring service. He has three cellphones that he uses for work, and although you would think this means he could work from anywhere in the world, the roaming charges are a killer. His solution was to build
an incredibly intricate machine that can use three different cellphones
(PDF) on his behalf.
Above you can see it perched underneath the apex of the ladder, but you’re definitely going to want to watch the video after the break. This interface method uses a camera to look at each phone. It’s hung pointing downward and moves like a pendulum to look at one of the three screens at a time. Each phone has one servo motor for each button, which uses a flexible cable as an actuator. Now he can take trips abroad, just checking in over the Internet for his two 17-hour weekend shifts (10am to 3am the next morning) working the phones.
This reminds us of the
cellphone endurance tests
. What happens when a button stops working?
[vimeo=http://www.vimeo.com/12109563 w=470] | 32 | 32 | [
{
"comment_id": "340969",
"author": "mosheen",
"timestamp": "2011-02-24T20:10:28",
"content": "WOW!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "340971",
"author": "earl",
"timestamp": "2011-02-24T20:13:44",
"content": "this is insane.",
"par... | 1,760,377,263.970198 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/24/let-there-be-light-inside-picture-frames/ | Let There Be Light Inside Picture Frames | Mike Szczys | [
"LED Hacks"
] | [
"budda",
"picture frame",
"solidworks"
] | [Limpkin] picked up a beautiful painting of Budda while in Bali because he thought it would react well with different colors of lighting. His overall goal was to
create a picture frame with built-in LEDs
. The major design specification for the project was to provide an indirect light source that would not shine in the viewers eyes. He got down to business designing a frame using SolidWorks for his modelling. The final design has a separate track from the paining with small dividers for each diode.
After about four hours on the CNC machine it was time to get down to soldering. [Limpkin] had 576 RGB LEDs on hand. He’s not looking to drive them individually, just to have independent control of each color. This makes the soldering a bit easier as there will be just three MOSFETs to drive each color. The final product looks great and can display any mix of colored light. Not bad for 50 hours of soldering. | 2 | 2 | [
{
"comment_id": "340943",
"author": "Sariel",
"timestamp": "2011-02-24T19:30:05",
"content": "i always wanted to do this to one of my picture frames. instead of using the usual cardboard or composite back i just cut a sheet of plexi to fit. give it a nice modern look, as if the picture is just flo... | 1,760,377,264.009296 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/26/diy-lightning-special-effects/ | DIY Lightning Special Effects | Chris Nelson | [
"classic hacks"
] | [
"555 timer",
"color organ",
"light organ",
"lightning"
] | Halloween may have come and gone but thats no reason not to take a look at
this
neat little special effects setup. Basically it uses an analogue circuit to monitor an audio signal and triggers some camera flashes using 5V relays. The idea is that you can play lightning strikes and other spooky sounds, and the system will trigger camera flashes to coincide with the lightning strikes. Adding in some color organs in addition to the camera flashes will dim your lights to help achieve a thunder like effect. Unfortunately there aren’t any schematics for the color organs (which technically might be just light organs) but that doesn’t detract from the seemingly well designed analogue signal processing. Check it out in action after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1b-J_JDp8VE&w=470]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=He9CQKxUH2A&w=470] | 3 | 3 | [
{
"comment_id": "342780",
"author": "Dave",
"timestamp": "2011-02-26T17:25:25",
"content": "Cool project. But I always thought one sees lightning before hearing the thunder????",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "343320",
"author": "qazwiz",
... | 1,760,377,264.113787 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/26/screen-tracking-projector/ | Screen Tracking Projector | Mike Szczys | [
"News"
] | [
"projector"
] | [Jon Howell] came up with what he calls a gratuitous project which projects his name on his office door. The thing is, his office door slides on tracks so he made
a projector that can follow the movement of that screen
. He used a laser printer to make a black and white pattern that indexes the movement of the door using a quadrature encoder. When it senses door movement a servo motor rotates the projector to match the change in the door’s location. As you can see in the video after the break it works even if the door is moved quickly.
We do agree with [Jon], this is a bit much. But it might be something to build into smart white boards that are mounted on sliding tracks. We guess that if you don’t plan to change the message being projected, which is the case with [Jon’s] office door nameplate, this would be a great way to use the
image projector build
we looked at yesterday.
[yotuube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EA_CLhGWAw4] | 7 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "342731",
"author": "kelsey",
"timestamp": "2011-02-26T15:46:39",
"content": "the “yotuube” isn’t displaying- check yer spelling!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "342733",
"author": "Morten",
"timestamp": "2011-02-26T15:50... | 1,760,377,264.074226 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/26/entrust-you-kids-life-to-a-homemade-roller-coaster/ | Entrust You Kid’s Life To A Homemade Roller Coaster? | Mike Szczys | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"roller coaster",
"welding"
] | So you fancy yourself as an amateur engineer? Been working on those welding skills for a while? The real test is to trust your children’s lives on
a roller coaster you’ve designed and built
(
translated
).
Now we’re not talking some tired old carnival ride like the teacups. This is a full-blown roller coaster, complete with an upside-down loop. The ride starts off with a chain-lift to the top of the garage/barn roof. From there it’s off and away on the single-rider train. We’d recommend keeping your hands and feet inside the car… if there was a car. The ride utilizes an automobile seat, but you’ll have to settle for a lap-belt as there’s no shoulder restraint here. We’re a bit wary of the track footings – we’d bet they’re not well anchored in the ground – but the fact that the entire length of track has been painted makes us think that [John Ivers] might have known at least a little bit about what he was doing. Don’t forget to catch the video below the fold.
Update:
Much better video now embedded after the break thanks to [Tom 101’s] link in the comments.
Update:
Source link changes to the original thanks to [Mike’s] comment.
Well produced overview of the coaster:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7gDYObipjg&w=470]
Quick and dirty demo:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj7bKOUpBII&w=470]
[Thanks Andrew] | 49 | 46 | [
{
"comment_id": "342689",
"author": "aefaradien",
"timestamp": "2011-02-26T14:38:03",
"content": "oh dear gods WTF??",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "342694",
"author": "Itwork4me",
"timestamp": "2011-02-26T14:44:02",
"c... | 1,760,377,264.603989 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/25/diy-hot-air-hand-dryer-an-ocd-sufferers-best-friend/ | DIY Hot Air Hand Dryer – An OCD Sufferer’s Best Friend | Mike Nathan | [
"contests",
"home hacks"
] | [
"555 timer",
"contests",
"dryer"
] | [haqnmaq] admits that he suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and on occasion, can be found washing his hands up to 20 times an hour. Very distrustful of cloth towels, he exclusively uses paper towels to dry his hands, to the tune of 2-3 rolls a day. In an effort to lessen the impact his OCD has on the environment and his wallet, he decided to build
an automated hot air hand dryer
using a 555 timer, which doubles as his entry in
the 555 Design Contest
.
The concept behind his project is to use a hair dryer as a hot air source, relying on a phototransistor and a pair of IR LEDs to detect when hands are placed under the dryer. When a pair of hands are detected, a relay is triggered and the hair dryer is turned on. Once the dryer has run for a pre-determined but adjustable time, the relay is opened, and the hair dryer turns off.
It’s a pretty simple project, but one that is quite useful, whether you suffer from OCD or not. The only thing he might want to watch out for is the restricted air flow to the dryer, since it is mounted in a sealed plastic container – a few seconds with a hole saw should remedy the problem quite easily.
Want to see the hand dryer in action? Keep reading for a short video demonstration.
[Thanks Ryan]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trS-5hMhjzE&w=470] | 38 | 38 | [
{
"comment_id": "342108",
"author": "CutThroughStuffGuy",
"timestamp": "2011-02-26T01:20:49",
"content": "So instead of using paper towels, he uses 1500 watts of coal or uranium derived power instead :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "342115",
... | 1,760,377,265.054489 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/25/diy-animatronic-penguin-shakes-and-grooves/ | DIY Animatronic Penguin Shakes And Grooves | Mike Nathan | [
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"animatronics",
"robot",
"servo"
] | Instructables user [djsfantasi] wanted to build an animated holiday display using puppets as a means of raising money for a local arts program. After doing a bit of reading and research however, he decided that building animatronic characters for the display was not that far fetched an idea.
His first inclination was to build a penguin
, allowing him to focus mostly on torso motion rather than having to articulate arms and legs as well. His goal was to enable his penguin to “dance” by shimmying and shaking as well as flapping his wings. Using plywood, four servos, along with some miscellaneous connecting rods and cables, he went to work.
The penguin is operated using a SSC-32 servo controller that features an ATmega168 MCU at its core. This allows him to control all of the servos independently, and also in concert, allowing for combined movements. The penguin’s mouth also functions, using a circuit that synchronizes its movements to an audio file.
While the robot is currently tethered to his computer via a serial cable, [djsfantasi] mentions that he is currently working on an iPhone app that will be able to control the robot wirelessly. All he needs to do now is build an animatronic Tom Servo then toss a Crow skin over this one, and he’ll be all set!
Keep reading to get a look at the penguin moving and grooving in the video below.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X322SL2UdA&w=470] | 9 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "342059",
"author": "Bob",
"timestamp": "2011-02-25T23:36:06",
"content": "This reminds me. Where are the results of the Santa contest?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "342098",
"author": "xeracy",
"timestamp": "2011-02-26... | 1,760,377,264.336479 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/25/image-projector-can-be-built-in-minutes/ | Image Projector Can Be Built In Minutes | Mike Szczys | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"magnifying glass",
"projector",
"transparency"
] | There’s a pretty good chance that you already have everything needed to
make this image projector
. We thought that yesterday’s
video projector
was simple, but this one makes it look like a super-computer in comparison. [Esrun] grabbed a flood light, some transparency film, and a common magnifying glass for use in his still-image project. This is more-or-less an overhead projector without the mirror, but we though it was worth sharing in hopes that it would spark your imagination and produce some other projector-oriented hacks.
The real tricks in this build are alignment and focal length. A single piece of lumber was used to help keep everything in a straight line, leaving just the vertical alignment to account for. In order to get the image in focus, [Esrun] had to do some testing for positioning the transparency film and the lens. In the end he added strips of velcro to the base to make the components easy to move. He plans to add an enclosure and change from an incandescent bulb over to a set of LEDs. We’d like to see the addition of a carousel that can house multiple transparency sheets. That or a side-scrolling roll to give it more of a film-strip feel. | 14 | 14 | [
{
"comment_id": "342025",
"author": "ys0",
"timestamp": "2011-02-25T22:26:06",
"content": "maybe if I put a transparent LCD instead of the slide, i could screen a video",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "342027",
"author": "MS3FGX",
"timest... | 1,760,377,264.523344 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/25/555-inductance-meter/ | 555 Inductance Meter | Mike Szczys | [
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"555",
"inductance",
"meter"
] | [Apexys] is performing some experiments with switched-mode power supplies and needed to compare the inductance of the coils he was using. His multimeter doesn’t have an inductance testing function, but he does have a 555 timer on hand. He put the
555 and some other parts together to create his own L meter
. The writeup includes the theory behind this meter, with an incoming AC source converted to a voltage by an RC network.
Once he’d worked out the design it was time to build the circuit. Instead of printing a circuit board he created what he calls a DCB; Drawn Circuit Board. We’ve got to admit that this was way faster than using toner transfer or soldering point-to-point. We also like his use of an Erlenmeyer flask and a torch to heat the etchant. We don’t make PCBs in the winter because our Cupric Chloride is too cold to use outside but that may change now. The final piece in the puzzle is an analog meter which he pulled from an extra microamp meter he had on hand. Check out the demo after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxVmkd5yD6Q&w=470] | 7 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "342003",
"author": "sethj",
"timestamp": "2011-02-25T22:01:08",
"content": "um, this is awesome. well done.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "342031",
"author": "gatorchamp",
"timestamp": "2011-02-25T22:30:43",
"conten... | 1,760,377,264.382512 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/24/heat-gun-gpu-reflow-fixes-laptop/ | Heat Gun GPU Reflow Fixes Laptop | Mike Szczys | [
"laptops hacks",
"Repair Hacks"
] | [
"gpu",
"heat gun",
"HP",
"NVIDIA",
"reflow",
"tx2000"
] | Solder connections on processors seem to be a very common failure point in modern electronics. Consider the Red Ring of Death (RRoD) on Xbox 360 or the Yellow Light of Death (YLoD) on PlayStation 3. This time around the problem is a malfunctioning Nvidia GPU on an HP Pavilion TX2000 laptop. The video is sometimes a jumbled mess and other times there’s no video at all. If the hardware is older, and the alternative to fixing it is to throw it away, you should try to
reflow the solder connections on the chip
.
This method uses a heat gun, which we’ve seen
repair PCBs
in the past. The goal here is to be much less destructive and that’s why the first step is to test out how well your heat gun will melt the solder. Place a chunk of solder on a penny, hold the heat gun one inch above it and record how long it takes the solder to flow. Once you have the timing right, mask off the motherboard (already removed from the case) so that just the chip in question is accessible. Reflow with the same spacing and timing as you did during the penny test. Hopefully once things cool down you’ll have a working laptop or gaming console again. | 91 | 50 | [
{
"comment_id": "340879",
"author": "sp00nix",
"timestamp": "2011-02-24T18:08:42",
"content": "I just yanked a CPU from one of these with the same issue lol. Oh well, now my machines faster :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "340881",
"author... | 1,760,377,264.472054 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/24/magnetic-smd-pick-and-place/ | Magnetic SMD Pick And Place | Mike Nathan | [
"cnc hacks",
"Robots Hacks",
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"cnc",
"magnetic",
"pick and place",
"smd"
] | [svofski] sent us
this pick and place robot
(
Google translation
) that he found , and it’s quite unique. The majority of the components that make up this pick and place have been recycled from old computer equipment. The X-axis motion is accomplished using old printer parts, while an old CD-ROM drive was gutted to provide motion along the Y-axis. Floppy drive components were ultimately chosen to give the pick and place Z-axis motility.
What makes this pick and place unique however is the way in which components are moved. Most
pick and place devices
we have seen
rely on suction
in order to lift and carry components, but this one uses a magnet instead. The machine is used to build small circuit boards for a robotics platform offered on the builder’s web site, which primarily utilizes SMD parts. Once they realized that the majority of their small components were ferromagnetic, they built a hand-wound electromagnet to lift them. While the design limits the usage of the device to strictly ferromagnetic parts, they have a very specific need, which this fills perfectly.
Another unique aspect of this pick and place is the grooved table that sits under the workpiece. It is used to route up to four reels of SMD components, with the placement head providing all of the reel motion instead of relying on separate motors.
If you have a few minutes, be sure to
check out the video
of the pick and place at work. | 13 | 13 | [
{
"comment_id": "340841",
"author": "nave.notnilc",
"timestamp": "2011-02-24T17:20:10",
"content": "ah, using the head to also push the tape further along is very neat.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "340844",
"author": "FightCube.com",
... | 1,760,377,264.712904 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/24/555-video-game/ | 555 Video Game | Kevin Dady | [
"Video Hacks"
] | [
"555",
"game"
] | [Thrashbarg] is back up to some 555 timer madness again, this time with his sort of
dodge ball video game
. Featuring twenty three 555 timers, op amps (the LM324) and atari paddles slightly modded so the pots act as voltage dividers.
Output is on a monochrome composite tv signal, and the game plays like a dodge ball game where the object is to avoid the ball and take out the other player. You can also launch your own ball and deflect the oncoming attack. When hit the defeated player disappears from the screen for 3 seconds and then another round starts.
On a personal note this project hits close to home, as the project I had planned was a 555 based pong game, and just days before the deadline all I have is a wobbly sync generator, so seeing something close to what I had imagined, and working, makes me smile and feel a little better about my mental status.
Check out a short video after the break, and [Thrashbarg’s] previous 555 project, The
Synthanola
.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OGIWPw2C8o&feature=player_embedded&w=450] | 20 | 20 | [
{
"comment_id": "340784",
"author": "Sobachatina",
"timestamp": "2011-02-24T15:21:21",
"content": "This project is very impressive. The familiarity of analog electronics required is staggering.However, the real accomplishment of this contest is to make me very grateful for modern electronics and mic... | 1,760,377,264.658172 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/24/555-timer-based-charge-controller/ | 555 Timer-based Charge Controller | Mike Nathan | [
"contests",
"home hacks",
"Solar Hacks"
] | [
"555",
"contest",
"solar"
] | Several years ago [Michael Davis] built a charge controller for his wind turbine and published his construction plans online. This build became quite popular, especially among people that live in remote regions. He states that he is flooded with email each day with questions about his charge controller from people trying to troubleshoot its construction or from people who are unable to source the proper parts.
In order to make things easier for people, he decided to
revisit his controller design to see what could be improved
, and more importantly, what could be removed. The revision was shelved for awhile, but while in the process of working on another project, he realized that most of his original circuit could be easily replaced with a 555 timer. Since the 555 chip is so ubiquitous, he figured it was a fantastic way to simplify his charger, even if he wasn’t using the chip in the manner for which it was originally designed.
He continued revising his charger, sourcing very basic components and simplifying the circuitry enough that even he was able to build it correctly the first time around. Needless to say, this charging circuit will be his entry in the
555 Design Contest
.
Be sure to keep reading for a quick video of his charger in action.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PbNLNWFK5M&w=470] | 13 | 13 | [
{
"comment_id": "340769",
"author": "Eikka",
"timestamp": "2011-02-24T14:39:10",
"content": "“Before you write to me and tell me that my lower set point is too low and I am over-discharging my batteries, consider that the battery voltage isn’t normally going to get that low except under load. If the... | 1,760,377,264.763797 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/24/reverse-engineering-a-mobile-phone-e-paper-display/ | Reverse Engineering A Mobile Phone E-paper Display | Mike Nathan | [
"Cellphone Hacks",
"Microcontrollers"
] | [
"e-paper",
"launchpad",
"msp430"
] | While e-paper is common among e-readers, there are very few, if any phones other than the MOTOFONE that exclusively use an e-paper display. [Steve] had one of these phones sitting around and thought it could be used to
build a low-power clock
. Since the bistable e-paper display can retain the currently active content even when power is removed, he would only need to update the clock once a minute, when the time changed.
Unfortunately for him, very little publicly-available documentation exists for the display controller Motorola used. To get an idea of how the display was driven, he had to sniff the SPI communications between the processor and the display. Once he had the basic commands down, he spent quite a bit of time figuring out how to activate the different segments of the display, due to what seems to be a rushed design process on Motorola’s part.
Now that [Steve] had reverse-engineered just about everything, he connected the phone to a TI MSP430 to drive the display. He programmed the LaunchPad to serve as a basic clock with great results, as you can see in the video below.
If your interest in e-paper hacking has been piqued, be sure to check out our previous e-paper coverage
here
.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZdV2iKakqA&w=470] | 6 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "340771",
"author": "Gray Simpson",
"timestamp": "2011-02-24T14:42:35",
"content": "Daaaang – I want one of those, seems like a good device!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "340790",
"author": "Phil",
"timestamp": "2011-02... | 1,760,377,264.80443 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/23/self-regulating-water-heater/ | Self-regulating Water Heater | Mike Nathan | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"home hacks"
] | [
"green",
"netduino",
"servos"
] | Most everyone is looking to live a little greener these days, with motivating factors typically being the preservation of the environment or financial considerations. [Fabien]
fit into the latter category
after realizing that about 25% of his monthly gas bill went to heating the water he and his family use each day. After a few calculations, he found that they only required hot water 68 of the 168 hours per week that the water heater was typically running. He figured the best way to save a few dollars was to rig the water heater to turn itself down when it wasn’t being used.
He connected a servo to the temperature control knob on his water heater, allowing it to be adjusted by a microcontroller. Having a rough idea as to the schedule his family keeps during an average week, he wrote an application for his Netduino that would actuate the servo when needed. A DS1307 real-time clock was wired to the Netduino for accurate timekeeping, so as to ensure [Fabien’s] wife never had to endure a cold shower.
It’s a shame that most water heaters don’t ship with some sort of programmable thermostat like you see with newer HVAC systems, but this hack is definitely a step in the right direction.
Continue reading to see his power-saving water heater in action.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEmMS5qdOcI&w=470]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntumJIyvUzw&w=470] | 74 | 50 | [
{
"comment_id": "340456",
"author": "iToast",
"timestamp": "2011-02-24T00:17:31",
"content": "Needs a enclosure, i give it 10/10 On the green hack scale!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "340458",
"author": "Savant9",
"timestamp": "2011-02... | 1,760,377,264.982874 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/23/repair-stuck-ipod-nano-buttons/ | Repair Stuck IPod Nano Buttons | Mike Szczys | [
"ipod hacks",
"Repair Hacks"
] | [
"button",
"ipod",
"nano",
"shim",
"tape"
] | A system is only as strong as its weakest link and [Roberto Barrios] found that on the sixth generation
iPod nano the buttons are the problem
. It makes sense that the buttons would be exposed to wear since they’re movable parts. The issue isn’t one of contacts or springs wearing out, but how the buttons are assembled. Each consist of a couple of parts; the tactile piece that you see and press, the electrical switch which converts that force into an electrical signal, and a shim that bridges the gap between the two.
After two months of use the iPod [Roberto] was fixing had stopped responding to presses of the Power button. It turns out that the shims are attached with double-sided tape. Inspection of the internals revealed that the shim had slid to one side and no longer made contact with the electrical system. His solution was to remove the tape and clean off the goo, then reattach the shims using “two-part metal cement”.
With the shim back in place all is well but he made sure to execute this fix on all of the buttons before reassembly. | 19 | 18 | [
{
"comment_id": "340472",
"author": "Hirudinea",
"timestamp": "2011-02-24T00:40:24",
"content": "With what they charge for anything with iPod on it you’ed think they would use somthing better than double sided tape. Just goes to show, you get screwed with what pay for.",
"parent_id": null,
"... | 1,760,377,265.103721 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/23/force-feedback-rig/ | Force Feedback Rig | Mike Szczys | [
"Peripherals Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"projector",
"simulator"
] | Strap yourself in, it’s going to be a bumpy ride. No really, if you don’t believe us, check out the video after the break of
this bouncing and rolling game system
. [Shawn McGrath] built it to compliment the gaming experience for Dyad, an indie game for which he is a developer. His wife was kind enough to demonstrate the machine, which utilizes one motor to rotate the display and cockpit, and another to add vibration to the experience. The parts for the system were mostly salvaged, with the addition of a projector for the display and a PlayStation SixAxis controller to sense the motion of the rig. The motors are powered by a 600W computer PSU and controlled by an Arduino. It helps that [Shawn’s] a developer because he was able to add feedback hooks to sync with the gameplay.
It’s not as intricate as
the best flight simulators
we’ve seen, but it will be fun for that next kegger.
[vimeo=http://vimeo.com/20277439 w=470]
Demonstration starts about 1 minute into the video. | 13 | 13 | [
{
"comment_id": "340388",
"author": "Andrew",
"timestamp": "2011-02-23T22:27:33",
"content": "“Stop hitting enemies”. Was that direction to his wife or a commentary on war?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "340391",
"author": "JorisL",
"t... | 1,760,377,265.15778 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/23/gauss-weapons/ | Gauss Weapons | Mike Szczys | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"ball bearing",
"gauss",
"magnet",
"rifle",
"weapon"
] | This collection of gauss weapons
use rare earth magnets to accelerate projectiles to damaging speeds. They work using the same concepts as a coil gun, but instead of just one projectile travelling along a length of guide track, there are many projectiles that work in a chain reaction. A series of magnets are placed at equal distances along the track. Each has a couple of large ball bearings on the muzzle side of the magnet. The first ball bearing is fired using mechanical force – like a spring mechanism – and accelerates as it approaches the magnet due to the attractive force of that magnetic field. When it impacts the magnet it sends one of the ball bearings on the opposite side down the track where it will accelerate when it nears the next magnet in the chain. The weapon above achieves a final projectile speed of about 68 miles per hour, breaking six fluorescent tubes in a row on at the right side of the apparatus.
Still prefer rail guns that use electromagnets? Check out
this gauss pistol kit
that is about as powerful as a BB gun. | 34 | 34 | [
{
"comment_id": "340354",
"author": "ho0d0o",
"timestamp": "2011-02-23T21:15:26",
"content": "This is such a funky coincidence! I was just playing the final part of Crysis on my new (i7-2630 gt 540) and finally got the gauss rifle! Yay for gauss weapons!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
... | 1,760,377,265.85954 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/23/breaking-the-iclass-security/ | Breaking The IClass Security | Mike Szczys | [
"Security Hacks"
] | [
"18f",
"iclass",
"pic",
"rfid"
] | iClass is a popular format of RFID enabled access cards. These are issued to company employees to grant them access to parts of a building via a card reader at each security door. We’ve known for a long time that these access systems are rather weak when it comes to security. But now you can find out just how weak they are and how the security can be cracked. [Milosch Meriac] delved deep into
the security protocol for HID iClass devices
and has laid out the details in a white paper.
The most invasive part of the process was breaking the copy protection on PIC 18F family of chips in order to read out the firmware that controls card readers. This was done with a USB to serial cable and software that bit-bangs its own implementation of the ICSP protocol. After erasing and attacking several chips (one data block at a time) the original code was read off and patched together. Check out [Milosch’s] talk at 27C3 embedded after the break, and get the code for the ICSP bit banging attacks from
the white paper
(PDF).
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZNSYw9oH4Y&w=470] | 9 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "340355",
"author": "HackerK",
"timestamp": "2011-02-23T21:16:05",
"content": "Very interesting read and nice idea on how to extract ‘copy protected’ PICs.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "340397",
"author": "Nick Fury",
"... | 1,760,377,267.471073 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/23/kindle-3-1-jailbreak/ | Kindle 3.1 Jailbreak | Mike Nathan | [
"Kindle hacks",
"Security Hacks"
] | [
"jailbreak",
"kindle"
] | In the constant battle of manufacturers vs. jailbreakers, the turnaround time between a new software release and a new jailbreak seems to be getting shorter and shorter. [Yifan] noticed that a recent Kindle update broke a previous method of running unsigned code and
started the search for a new workaround
.
He eventually found a way to force the Kindle to run unsigned code based upon how the software update checked for digitally signed files. With that knowledge in hand, he discovered that he could trick the updater to run any file he wanted by exploiting the standard functionality found in the Unix ‘cat’ command.
On his site, [Yifan] provides more details, source code, and a compiled update file that performs the jailbreak for you. Much like the
previous
jailbreaks
we have featured,
it is perfectly legal to do
, but you do risk voiding your warranty during the process.
[Picture via Amazon.com] | 15 | 14 | [
{
"comment_id": "340252",
"author": "sp00nix",
"timestamp": "2011-02-23T18:24:55",
"content": "Sansa is an iPod",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "340264",
"author": "andrew",
"timestamp": "2011-02-23T18:49:50",
"content": "What practic... | 1,760,377,267.577038 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/23/building-a-dead-mouses-switch/ | Building A Dead Mouse’s Switch | Mike Nathan | [
"home hacks"
] | [
"led",
"mouse trap",
"notifier"
] | [Ned] had a mouse problem in a very uncomfortable place.
No, not like the back of a Volkswagen, in his ceiling. He wanted to put a mouse trap up there to take care of the critter, but knowing how nasty a tripped trap can be after a few days, he was hesitant. He recalled a project he saw online where a mouse trap was wired like a dead man’s switch and he got to work
putting together a trap of his own
.
He scavenged some parts from around the house and wired up the mouse trap so that a pair of LEDs were lit so long as the trap had not been sprung on an unsuspecting mouse. Once a mouse is caught in the trap, his circuit is broken, and the LEDs go off, letting [Ned] know it’s time to poke his head back up into the ceiling and clean things up.
While his trap is decidedly low-tech, we always enjoy seeing a cheap and easy solution to annoying, everyday problems. | 40 | 37 | [
{
"comment_id": "340198",
"author": "misterwilk",
"timestamp": "2011-02-23T17:19:12",
"content": "Wouldn’t it be just as easy and better for battery life to wire it up for the LED to go on once it HAS been tripped? ie. LED on, dead mouse to clean up.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"re... | 1,760,377,267.742108 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/23/easy-diy-stroboscope/ | Easy DIY Stroboscope | Mike Nathan | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"stroboscope"
] | Looking for something to do in his downtime, [Mista Sparkle] decided that
building a simple stroboscope
was in order. He already had a set of six LEDs connected to his Arduino from a previous project, so he added a potentiometer to control the rate at which the LEDs flashed, and dug into the IDE.
During his build he discovered that using the Arduino millis() function at high speeds provides terrible resolution, while using the micros() function exclusively limits his low end measuring capabilities. He desired a better range of measurement, so his program was broken into main functions: One which measures the LED flashing frequency in milliseconds and another that measures the LED flashing frequency in microseconds. This allowed him to gauge rotational frequencies from 577 to 30,000 RPM.
[Mista Sparkle] admits that he is not yet well-versed in driving displays with the Arduino, so he views his readings over a serial connection on his PC. Hopefully we’ll see an updated version with those features in the near future. | 12 | 12 | [
{
"comment_id": "340239",
"author": "bty",
"timestamp": "2011-02-23T17:57:09",
"content": "One expressed rate in Hertz, not in RPM.Why bother with cycle based delays when almost any AVR has at least 2 timers ?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "340... | 1,760,377,267.669485 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/23/xteardown/ | Xteardown | Kevin Dady | [
"Phone Hacks",
"Playstation Hacks"
] | [
"Psphone",
"Sony Ericsson",
"XperiaPlay"
] | A hot topic in the gadget world right now is the Sony Ericsson XperiaPlay phone, and while that is not our usual cup of tea, when we see the newest toy stripped down to its bits n pieces it piques our interest.
This 8 page
teardown of the XperiaPlay
(
google translated to english
) takes you though all the steps needed to dismantle your new joy. Every screw, clip, header and connector, each in order so you can get it back together again.
As the carnage progresses time is taken to point out some of the parts of the phone. From the mundane like I/O jacks, to the more interesting like the Synaptics touch pad driver that are handling the “analog” sticks, the Cypress multi-touch controller for the screen, and of course, the brains.
(thanks Frogz) | 9 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "340160",
"author": "brian",
"timestamp": "2011-02-23T15:36:38",
"content": "#corrections pique not peakhttp://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pique",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "340188",
"author": "Rob",
"timestamp": "... | 1,760,377,267.886629 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/23/mystery-box-out-of-lego/ | Mystery Box Out Of Lego | Kevin Dady | [
"Toy Hacks"
] | [
"lego",
"puzzle"
] | [Todd] recently completed completed his biggest LEGO project, and its pretty wild. The
Mystery Box
is an 8 compartment LEGO brick puzzle box, covered in a psychedelic pattern of interconnecting question marks.
The question mark pattern was inspired by a few things, the book called “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime” contained an illustration that looked sort of like a M.C. Escher painting, which with some looking around brought up
tessellation
. With the look in mind [Todd] sat down with a paint program, drew out a grid, and started flood filling blocks until the pattern was perfect.
In puzzle box tradition, to gain access to the contents you must remove each compartment in the specific mystery order, and to accomplish this was no easy task.
Lego Digital Designer
was used to prototype everything on the box and then once happy, [Todd] broke the model down for a parts count.
Nearly 8,000 parts, 35 brick orders, and some long waits, the box was finally completed and its definetly worth a look. If you’re not that extreme, they also make cool
electronics enclosures
. | 8 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "340145",
"author": "Darkstar",
"timestamp": "2011-02-23T14:54:13",
"content": "Building instructions anywhere? ;-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "340147",
"author": "FightCube.com",
"timestamp": "2011-02-23T15:00:04",
... | 1,760,377,267.840685 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/23/midi-controller-fit-for-an-arcade/ | MIDI Controller Fit For An Arcade | Mike Nathan | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"Musical Hacks"
] | [
"arcade",
"arduino",
"midi"
] | MIDI controllers can be relatively expensive depending on feature sets and requirements, so Instructables user [fraganator] went about
building one on his own for just under $100
. He originally wanted to replicate a commercially available MIDI controller, which used arcade buttons in lieu of the more common rubberized buttons, since they are large and have a better feel when pressed. Once he drew up plans for his MIDI clone, he realized he wanted more features in his controller than were available in the commercial version, so he started revising.
His final plan included three rows of four arcade buttons as well as four rotary and two sliding potentiometers. All of the components were mounted in a small keyboard enclosure, then wired to an Arduino clone, which manages all of the controller’s functions. The controller is connected to a PC via USB and can perform any number of operations once the buttons are mapped in MIDI-compatible software.
There are no videos of the controller in action just yet, though [fraganator] says one is forthcoming. | 6 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "340105",
"author": "Anon",
"timestamp": "2011-02-23T13:39:26",
"content": "Homemade version of thishttp://store.djtechtools.com/products/midifighter-diy-kit#",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "340113",
"author": "Bill D. Willia... | 1,760,377,267.620432 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/22/the-interstellar-clock/ | The Interstellar Clock | Chris Nelson | [
"clock hacks"
] | [
"clock",
"mars",
"moon",
"pic",
"solar system"
] | [Alexander Avtanski] has put together a nice
clock to meet all your interstellar travel needs
. Besides being another PIC based timer, this is a neat little project because it incorporates pretty much every feature you could think of when building a clock for our solar sytem. For example, it has 16 independent timers and alarms, it can simultaneously give the time for multiple planets, as well as keep track of other stellar events like the eye of Jupiter or the phases of the moon. To get this project off the ground [Alex] reverse engineered an old dial up modem to serve as an enclosure and power supply and then added in a rechargeable battery so that his his interstellar clock wasn’t tied to a wall.
[via
make
] | 21 | 21 | [
{
"comment_id": "339750",
"author": "1337",
"timestamp": "2011-02-23T00:43:19",
"content": "will it account for general relativity differences do to speed of the clock as I travel through space?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "339763",
"auth... | 1,760,377,267.798532 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/22/diy-racing-sim-shift-box/ | DIY Racing Sim Shift Box | Mike Nathan | [
"computer hacks",
"Peripherals Hacks"
] | [
"pc",
"racing",
"video games"
] | Ask anyone who has ever owned a car with a manual gearbox – in real life and in video games, nothing beats stick shift. Rather than shell out gobs of money to purchase a pre-made shift box, forum member [nikescar]
built his own
for about $20.
Using some scrap wood and a plastic cutting board, he went to work building a prototype. The “H” shift pattern was designed in CAD and laid over the cutting board, which was hand-cut with a Dremel. Using some tips found online, he constructed a simple shifting mechanism, then wired in a cheap USB game pad found on Ebay. Using safety pins as temporary micro switches, he ran a few laps, and was quite happy with the results. Once the switches arrived, they were fitted to the shift box and it was off to the races.
[nikescar] reports that the shifter works extremely well, allowing him to row through the gears with the greatest of ease, sans any fear of breaking things. Keep reading to get a better look at the shift box internals.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEJT4V1UzZ4&w=470] | 13 | 13 | [
{
"comment_id": "339747",
"author": "biozz",
"timestamp": "2011-02-23T00:38:16",
"content": "its hard to find a good shift box for racing wheels of the market (even tho i prefer paddle shifters)general there built in to the wheel ocwardly close to the steering wheel",
"parent_id": null,
"dep... | 1,760,377,267.937266 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/22/italkman-refrigerated-franken-phone/ | ITalkman Refrigerated Franken-phone | Mike Nathan | [
"Cellphone Hacks"
] | [
"bluetooth",
"iphone",
"old school",
"refrigerator"
] | [Jani] over at MetkuMods was
commissioned to build a prize
for an on-air contest held by MTV3 in Finland. Well known for some of his
previous
work
, he was a natural choice for this project. The only stipulation for the build was that it contain three specific items: a Mobira mobile phone, an Apple iPhone, and a refrigerator. For those of you who don’t know, a Mobira Talkman is an old-school “mobile” phone built by Nokia in the 80’s that weighed in at 11 pounds, and was far from convenient to use. In this case however, the size of the phone is an advantage since he was able to gut it and use the frame to make up the body of the refrigerated compartment. He sacrificed a soft-side portable heater/cooler bag, removing the built-in peltier cooler and associated components, later grafting them onto his Talkman case.
The next task was to add the iPhone to the Talkman. Rather than have the old handset sit there uselessly, [Jani] decided to mount a small Bluetooth hands-free module inside the handset, allowing it to answer calls, adjust the volume, and change music tracks on the iPhone. The iPhone was put in a hard plastic case, then mounted to the Talkman handset where the keypad and display used to reside.
All in all, the iTalkman is a pretty cool looking device, though we wouldn’t want to be tasked with lugging that thing around all day! | 12 | 12 | [
{
"comment_id": "339699",
"author": "Jordan",
"timestamp": "2011-02-22T23:03:46",
"content": "To use the lingo:what is this i dont even",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "339718",
"author": "Techrat",
"timestamp": "2011-02-22T23:42:16",
... | 1,760,377,267.521767 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/22/darpas-hummingbird-spybot/ | DARPA’s Hummingbird Spybot | Mike Szczys | [
"Robots Hacks",
"Security Hacks"
] | [
"aerovironment",
"camera",
"darpa",
"hummingbird"
] | Nope, this isn’t some extravagant fishing lure, it’s the
US Government’s newest way to spy
on its
people
enemies. The hummingbird bot has no problems flying like an actual hummingbird while recording video. It was
developed by a company called Aerovironment
as part of a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) contract. Of course details are scarce, but you can see the device flying around while broadcasting its video feed after the break. Sure, it’s making much more noise than you would expect from an actual hummingbird, but this is just the version that they’re shown off publicly, right?
It has certainly come a long way since the company was awarded the contract few years back. We assume that the hummingbird is the realization of research efforts pumped into
their ornithopter project
. Those proofs of concept from 2009 on what was called Project Mercury showed off a winged flyer in a controlled environment. To see this year’s model flying out in the open is pretty neat.
[yotuube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEHI_pB3Br4&w=470]
[Thanks DMO] | 21 | 21 | [
{
"comment_id": "339678",
"author": "Smith, John",
"timestamp": "2011-02-22T22:17:51",
"content": "“Of course details are scare”What frightened them?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "339690",
"author": "Greg",
"timestamp": "2011-02-22T22:... | 1,760,377,268.109973 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/22/global-calcnet-your-ti-83-just-acquired-internet/ | Global CALCnet: Your TI-83 Just Acquired Internet | Mike Szczys | [
"handhelds hacks"
] | [
"calcnet",
"graphing calculator",
"internet",
"ti",
"ti-83",
"ti-84",
"ti-nspire"
] | Global CALCnet lets you connect your TI graphic calculator to the Internet and use your favorite services like instant messaging and Internet relay chat. It also provides the option of worldwide multiplayer functionality for games ported to the device such as Scorched Earth and Tetris. We looked in on [Christopher Mitchell’s] CALCnet in December when
it was being used to create local area networks
with the adding machines. He’s taken that up a notch with a helping hand from Arduino. An Arduino board is used to connect the serial communications from the calculator to an Internet connected PC via the Arduino’s USB capabilities.
Think this will waste a lot of time in schools? Unlikely since an Internet connected computer is integral for this system to work. If you have a computer in front of you why waste time on the calculator network? Still, how hard would it be to build a WiFi module that can directly connect them to an access point? That may be a moot point as
the Slashdot article
that pointed us to global CALCnet also links to
a calculator port of DOOM
. It runs quite well, as you can see in the video after the break. This is a must-have for anyone owning a TI Nspire that can run it.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsN2JIRGHAo&w=470]
[Thanks Rlyeh_Drifter] | 16 | 16 | [
{
"comment_id": "339624",
"author": "andrew",
"timestamp": "2011-02-22T20:22:13",
"content": "I was about to say that they need to make Doom 4 but, it looks like Carmack is already on it (wikipedia doom 4).",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "339630... | 1,760,377,268.353246 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/22/kiwidrive-housebot/ | KiwiDrive HouseBot | Mike Szczys | [
"Hackerspaces",
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"camera",
"servo",
"stepper",
"uno"
] | Forskningsavdelningen, a Swedish hackerspace, had a hackathon last weekend and
the KiwiDrive HouseBot
is one of the items that resulted from the group effort. They set a goal to use standard, easy to obtain parts, so that the robotic platform would be accessible for reproduction by individuals or at other hackerspaces. The three-limbed device rolls around on a triad of omni-directional wheels -which are probably the hardest part to source but
you can always print your own
. An Arduino Uno was used as the hardware interface, driving the three stepper motors for locomotion.
It’s not pictured above, but the fourth generation of the little guy also includes a webcam. The camera rides in the center of the body and is mounted on a servo. This makes it possible to turn the camera, meaning there’s no real front or back to this design. Future plans include adding an on-board computer (this is larger than it appears) and implementing emoticons on an 8×8 LED matrix, presumably so you can tell how the bot is feeling today.
[Thanks KiwiRay] | 12 | 12 | [
{
"comment_id": "339639",
"author": "Garreth",
"timestamp": "2011-02-22T20:48:23",
"content": "I wonder if he came up with the idea after slipping off of the toilet while trying to hang a clock.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "339640",
"auth... | 1,760,377,268.281087 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/22/kinect-to-get-windows-drivers-months-after-open-source-drivers-were-developed/ | Kinect To Get Windows Drivers Months After Open Source Drivers Were Developed | Mike Szczys | [
"Xbox Hacks"
] | [
"adafruit",
"driver",
"johnny chung lee",
"Kinect",
"windows"
] | Microsoft is planning to release Windows drivers for the Kinect
this spring, months after open source drivers were
developed by a motivated hacking community
. [Johnny Chung Lee], who worked with the Microsoft team when the hardware was developed, mentions that he had pushed for the giant to develop and release at least basic Windows drivers. That refusal led him to a position as top cheerleader and bounty contributor in Adafruit’s Open Kinect Contest which resulted (quickly we might add) in the availability of open source drivers. If you’ve been following Hackaday or any other tech blogs the last three months you’ll know that
an explosion
of
projects using the Kinect
followed, and [Johnny] figures Microsoft’s decision to release Windows drivers is an attempt to ride this wave on their own flagship OS rather than continue to watch from the sidelines. | 20 | 20 | [
{
"comment_id": "339563",
"author": "Jordan",
"timestamp": "2011-02-22T18:18:22",
"content": "I just might go out an buy a Kinect….",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "339564",
"author": "alan",
"timestamp": "2011-02-22T18:18:25",
"conte... | 1,760,377,268.743455 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/22/light-sensitive-midi-glove/ | Light Sensitive MIDI Glove | Mike Szczys | [
"digital audio hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"glove",
"ldr",
"midi",
"photoresistor",
"voltage divider"
] | The latest offering in glove-based noisemakers forsakes commonly used flex sensors in favor or photoresistors. [Bruno Ratnieks] is responsible for
this musical glove
and his methods will be very easy to recreate. He used an Arduino to interface with it while providing a USB connection to your audio software. The sensors themselves couldn’t be easier to throw together, with each photoresistor creating a voltage divider when combined with a fixed-value resistor. That’s all the hardware you need, and with some creative coding you can making it do much more than the effects heard in the video after the break.
Some will say that [Bruno] simply
didn’t used enough duct tape
with his project design. Be we liked how he wove the wiring into the mesh of these knit gloves to keep it firmly in place.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RJXecQkZJ4&w=470] | 3 | 3 | [
{
"comment_id": "339562",
"author": "Jordan",
"timestamp": "2011-02-22T18:10:59",
"content": "“in favor *OF* photoresistors”“simply didn’t *USE* enough duct tape”I really like the setup though, that’s awesome.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "339... | 1,760,377,268.397083 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/22/555-cartoons/ | 555 Cartoons | Kevin Dady | [
"Video Hacks"
] | [
"555",
"animation"
] | Drehkino is a
Turntable Cinema
that plays short (50 frames) looping animations from specially printed, disks, and is housed in a wooden frame similar to a record player. The paper disks are the frames of animation and an optical rotary encoder pattern, that pattern is picked up by a infrared pair scavenged from an old mouse. The signal is then passed onto a 555 timer configured as a Schmitt trigger that (indirectly) drives the led strobe light creating animation that is synced to the speed of the turn table.
That sounds all good and well, but it must be a big pain to split up an animation and calculate each frame’s position etc, well that is covered too by a couple scripts. Movie clips are sent though
virtualdub
to select what 50 frames you want, then are exported to individual images, an sh script then takes over and
gawk
is used to manipulate the data and create an
ImageMagick
(
“CONVSCRIPT”
) file. After you do the script dance you are left with a perfectly spaced wheel with encoder ready to print on standard paper in a PDF format.
Software and schematics included, with future improvements already in the works and its nifty, so its worth a check. This is an interesting take on the old
zoetrope
design. | 10 | 10 | [
{
"comment_id": "339499",
"author": "Frits Rincker",
"timestamp": "2011-02-22T16:07:43",
"content": "Perhaps add a little magnifier and mirror to see the small image, or let it reflect through a lens?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "339525",
... | 1,760,377,268.459044 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/22/thermostat-controlled-plug-box/ | Thermostat Controlled Plug Box | Kevin Dady | [
"home hacks"
] | [
"plug",
"thermostat"
] | [Eric] has a problem with his new house, there was no heat in the attic space that had been converted into a loft. Facing no way to tap into the ductwork and wanting to use the space as a bedroom he did what most of us would, and just got a little space heater. Anyone who has lived with a space heater knows you have to be around to turn them on, and they usually dont have decent temperature control. These problems were quickly fixed by making a
thermostat controlled plug box
.
A quick trip to the hardware store resulted in a 2 gang metal junction box, faceplate with GFCI cutout, receptacle and a Honeywell baseboard heater thermostat. The thermostat is then wired to mains and its output connects to the receptacle.
He gives instructions on wiring which focuses on his parts, but you should follow the instructions to your specific thermostat, and error on the side of caution if working with mains current. The end story is a bedroom with a more constant temperature and doesn’t need a 3 hour burn to get there. | 19 | 19 | [
{
"comment_id": "339477",
"author": "Jesse",
"timestamp": "2011-02-22T15:33:56",
"content": "I believe you mean “err on the side of caution”, not “error on the side of caution” ;)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "339489",
"author": "Rocks25",... | 1,760,377,268.918717 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/22/speeding-up-a-thinkpad-x41-via-a-sata-ssd-conversion/ | Speeding Up A ThinkPad X41 Via A SATA SSD Conversion | Mike Szczys | [
"Tablet Hacks"
] | [
"bridge",
"hdd",
"pata",
"sata",
"ssd",
"thinkpad",
"x41"
] | [Marek Walther] uses a ThinkPad x41 tablet for business on a daily basis. Since he’s on the go with the device he figures that hardware failure is eventually going to strike and with that in mind he purchased a second unit – slightly broken – to fix as a backup. He had never been excited about the speed of the tablet so he set out to find improvements. One of the options was to
replace the traditional hard drive with a solid state model
(
translated
). But simply dropping in an SSD isn’t going to make things faster. That’s because the stock drive uses a PATA interface. After a bit of snooping [Marek] discovered that the motherboard has a SATA interface that has a bridge connecting to the PATA plug. By removing the bridge and soldering a SATA cable to the board he was able to improve performance while increasing storage capacity at the same time. | 32 | 28 | [
{
"comment_id": "339419",
"author": "Farkanoid",
"timestamp": "2011-02-22T14:36:00",
"content": "Now THAT is a hack!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "339420",
"author": "fartface",
"timestamp": "2011-02-22T14:38:08",
"content": "Simpl... | 1,760,377,268.809628 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/22/eyelid-shutter-glasses-fake-but-still-a-hack/ | Eyelid Shutter Glasses: Fake But Still A Hack | Mike Szczys | [
"Video Hacks"
] | [
"3d",
"fake",
"glasses",
"real or fake",
"shutter",
"troll"
] | If you’ve been keeping up with our featured stories this year you’ll remember the post about
using your own eyelids as 3D shutter glasses
. Throngs of commenters called this one as fake and they were right. But we still enjoyed the experience… it’s more fun to be trolled when the trolls are skilled and idea is original. The perpetrators have
released a follow-up video
that shows how it was done. It’s not just an electronic trinket and some acting. There’s well executed post-production which maps out the area around this gentleman’s eyes and edits in the rhythmic blinking that made the farce somewhat believable. Check it out after the break.
How it was done:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3VoVjAF0h8&w=470]
The original video:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uef17zOCDb8&w=470]
[Thanks unaB] | 26 | 25 | [
{
"comment_id": "339390",
"author": "Phil",
"timestamp": "2011-02-22T13:09:59",
"content": "I was so sure that it is a fake video. Your muscls will never be able to move so fast.(Relax and brace).",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "339391",
"au... | 1,760,377,268.607497 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/21/diy-pick-and-place-seems-easy-to-build/ | DIY Pick And Place Seems Easy To Build | Mike Szczys | [
"cnc hacks"
] | [
"needle",
"pick and place",
"servo",
"stepper"
] | We’re not saying it’s a simple project, but the build methods that [Alan Sawula] used for
this DIY pick and place
are probably the easiest we’ve seen yet. As this is just a CNC machine, the methods he used would also work quite well for mills or other machines. Instead of using precision rods for the X and Y axes, he used square tubing. The tubing is oriented more like a diamond, with the ninety degree corners providing the travel surface. Two bearings with a shim between them provide a groove that rides along the corner, and since this is square and not just ‘L’ bracket, the sleds are secured both above and below the tube. Stepper motors provide the movement along X and Y, with a servo motor for Z and another one to rotate the medical grade needle that serves as the vacuum tip. Starting four minutes into the video you can see that this not only works, but it’s lightning fast!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoCJFJsCXPQ&w=470] | 44 | 42 | [
{
"comment_id": "339005",
"author": "svofski",
"timestamp": "2011-02-22T00:10:23",
"content": "I really like how he used simple aluminium angles and skate bearings. Very smart! Good luck with your project.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "339012"... | 1,760,377,268.687969 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/21/over-engineered-clock-finds-purpose-as-rss-reader/ | Over-engineered Clock Finds Purpose As RSS Reader | Mike Szczys | [
"clock hacks"
] | [
"18f4550",
"c++",
"clock",
"pic",
"rss",
"usb"
] | [Bob Alexander] admits that he over-engineered his clock, giving it eight control buttons, eight twelve-segment alpha-numeric display digits, a GPS module as a time source, and a beefy microcontroller to boot. But he’s found a way to get more for his money out of the device by
adding RSS and weather features to it
.
Since he’s using the PIC 18F4550 it’s a snap to add USB connectivity. From there he wrote a fantastic PC-side application for communicating with the display. Now he has the option of displaying time, RSS feeds, or weather by scrolling through the options with one of the buttons. Perhaps the best feature is the option to launch a browser on the PC and view the current story just by pressing a button on the display. Check out the two demos after the break; one shows the clock features and the other demonstrates the C# software.
Clock features
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uf6kbmxlLlU&w=470]
Software features
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrWVMo_Bmfs&w=470] | 14 | 14 | [
{
"comment_id": "338993",
"author": "BadWolf",
"timestamp": "2011-02-21T23:33:23",
"content": "If he didn’t plan those uses at first,it’s a fail.Overdoing (and obviously overpricing) isn’t good while designing something.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"commen... | 1,760,377,268.861753 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/21/amazing-backyard-rocket-ship-tree-house/ | Amazing Backyard Rocket Ship Tree House | Mike Nathan | [
"home hacks",
"Microcontrollers",
"Toy Hacks"
] | [
"atmega",
"rocket",
"tree house"
] | If you thought you had a cool tree house as a kid, think again. Tasked with landscaping his back yard and building a tree house for his son, [Jon] decided to go all out and
build him a rocket ship instead
.
Rising 15 feet into the Seattle skyline, the tree house known as the Ravenna Ultra-Low-Altitude Vehicle (RULAV), is sure to be the envy of every kid in the neighborhood. [Jon] and a friend worked for well over a year on their creation, welding, grinding, painting, and riveting their way along. After the structure was built, they fabricated some custom PCBs, using them to build the ship’s 14 control panels. The entire operation is controlled by a custom OS built to run on the three ATmega MCUs that manage operations.
Not content with just a handful of knobs and switches, the ship contains over 800 LEDs among its laundry list of electronics goodies. Compressed air is used to shoot water from positioning “thrusters”, while a paint mixer spins under the ship to simulate the rough and bumpy nature of space travel. The simulated launches are capped off with plenty of authentic NASA-style audio and a sub woofer that gives everything a deep, resonating rumble.
The project is truly amazing, and a ton of work went into every little detail in order to make this the most spectacular tree house ever seen. [Jon] definitely takes the award for “Coolest Dad Ever” for this build, even we’re jealous!
The pictures certainly don’t do it justice, so be sure to check out the video below for a quick introduction and demo of this awesome project.
Thanks to [Jeremy Elson] for the tip.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8izMrzulMHI&w=470] | 26 | 25 | [
{
"comment_id": "338959",
"author": "alan",
"timestamp": "2011-02-21T22:13:15",
"content": "he should integrate a monitor in there, would be fun to have a flight simulator that showed visual feed back on a monitor instead of a matrix of 7-segs.but otherwise, most badass thing. ever.",
"parent_id... | 1,760,377,269.239579 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/21/interfacing-an-arduino-with-a-tft-lcd/ | Interfacing An Arduino With A TFT LCD | Mike Nathan | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"Microcontrollers"
] | [
"arduino",
"lcd",
"serial",
"tft"
] | Seven-segment displays and monochrome LCDs are fine for most projects, but some things simply look better in color. [John] over at the Little Bird Electronics blog recently wrote up a tutorial
demonstrating the use of a TFT LCD panel with an Arduino
. The specific panel he chose was a 4D Systems 1.44” TFT LCD that happened to feature a dedicated graphics processor, which should allow for some fantastic visuals when used to its fullest potential.
The LCD takes its commands over a serial interface, making it a simple five-wire display solution for your projects. The display can be programmed manually by sending hex commands over the serial interface, but there are also some user-developed libraries available that will allow you to use the majority of the most popular functions without the learning curve. One thing to note is that the LCD must be flashed with a particular flavor of firmware before it can communicate over the serial interface, a process for which [John] provides a walk through.
The LCD panel can be used with any Arduino-compatible board, so it can be useful in a whole host of projects.
Stick around to see a simple demo of the board in use.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKy-GuKWGZ8&w=470] | 8 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "338936",
"author": "mengineer",
"timestamp": "2011-02-21T21:24:10",
"content": "I’ve been using 4D’s 2.4″ touch sceen uOLED, with the picasso sgc chip, for over a year now. It’s a great, easy to implement, powerfull display, as most od 4D’s displays are. They have every function you... | 1,760,377,268.965795 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/21/farmbot/ | Farmbot | Kevin Dady | [
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"farm",
"farming"
] | Prospero is the working prototype of an
Autonomous Micro Planter
, which is intended to be unleashed as a swarm. Using a Parallax propeller mounted on a
Lynxmotion AH3-R
hexapod body, though we have a ton of different
ideas on hexapods
if you find the price of the body to be out of budget.
Inputs to the machine are pretty standard robot fare like infrared, and ultrasound. Outputs on the other hand are more interesting, for example spray paint, retractable drill, seed dispenser, and of course a stack of servos.
Arming a robot with a drill and a can of spray paint sounds like a recipe for hours of fun, but it does have a job to do. Walking around, the bot stops and checks the ground below it, and if the ground is ok to seed, a small auger drill flips down from the robot’s belly. After drilling a hole, a seed is dropped, then covered over with a scoop on the back of the drill. Finally the seeded the spot is marked with white paint and the robot moves on.
Though its a prototype and not fully formed yet, its an interesting thing to see, so join us after the break for a video.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACtihXjq2B0&w=450] | 24 | 24 | [
{
"comment_id": "338904",
"author": "bunedoggle",
"timestamp": "2011-02-21T20:10:21",
"content": "Cool idea. I would think that there would be a huge seed hopper somewhere though. I suppose it can just return and get more seeds as it runs out. Or maybe you could have a “mother ship” robot with a ... | 1,760,377,269.110087 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/21/ultrasmall-arduino/ | Ultrasmall Arduino | Kevin Dady | [
"Arduino Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"tiny"
] | [Fabio Varesano’s] new Arduino compatible board packs a full power punch in a ultra compact layout, measuring at 20.7×15.2 mm, the
Femtoduino
is probably the smallest 328 based Arduino compatible board around. Most of the staples are present, an QFN atmega328, an
MIC5205
low dropout regulator good for a couple hundred milli amps, 16MHz ceramic resonator, reset, power indicator and pin 13 LEDs, but you will need to provide your own serial connection (FTDI, MAX232 etc) and another AVR programmer to get the Arduino boot loader onto the chip.
Since the board is small (smaller than a pro mini) it is not directly breadboard friendly. Even though the hole spacing is 0.05 inch, the size is large enough for “normal” wire to fit into fine, if you wish to use 0.1 inch spacing there is a handy break out board you can make where the Femtoduino just snaps in.
Everything needed to make one of your own is provided on the website, schematics, kicad files, bill of materials, Gerbers for both the board and the breakout board, though we would like to see this as a pre-made board soon, join us after the break for a video and see why.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-TVLYRprAI&w=450] | 31 | 28 | [
{
"comment_id": "338887",
"author": "Jac Goudsmit",
"timestamp": "2011-02-21T19:36:23",
"content": "I just caught myself drooling :-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "338890",
"author": "CutThroughStuffGuy",
"timestamp": "2011-02-21T19:46... | 1,760,377,269.177379 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/21/nes-game-pad-wireless-light-commander/ | NES Game Pad Wireless Light Commander | Mike Nathan | [
"home hacks",
"Nintendo Hacks"
] | [
"gamepad",
"lighting",
"nintendo",
"wireless"
] | Annoyed that the new lights he bought for his apartment lacked power switches, Instructables user [p.arry.drew] decided to install a pair of wireless light switches. Not content to use the remotes separately, he decided to see if he could cram them both into an old NES controller, making for a nice
all-in-one wireless light commander
.
He disassembled the light switch remotes, cutting off a bit of the battery contacts to ensure they fit in the game pad. He then pulled apart his NES controller, removing the cord and adding some foam padding to ensure that the buttons fully contacted the wireless switches when pressed. A few bits of wooden dowel were added to keep everything in place, then the controller was reassembled.
His creation makes for a very convenient method of controlling several light switches from once source, plus the packaging is pretty handsome as well. These remote light switching solutions
seem to be all the rage lately
, so keep them coming!
Read on for a quick video of his remote light switches in action.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SifRm_Ju8E&w=470] | 7 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "338838",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2011-02-21T18:20:58",
"content": "That is oh-so-nice and oh-so-hip!Well done!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "338845",
"author": "alan",
"timestamp": "2011-02-21T18:38:45"... | 1,760,377,269.284839 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/21/diy-emergency-lighting-system/ | DIY Emergency Lighting System | Mike Nathan | [
"home hacks"
] | [
"diy",
"lighting",
"ups"
] | When the power goes out at home, what do you do? Most of us probably scramble around the house looking for a flashlight. [Gigawatts] wanted a better solution, so he
built an emergency lighting system
based off a standard household UPS. A while back he had
constructed a relay-switched outlet box
to help periodically restart his cable modem which would get hung up a little too often for his liking. Since changing Internet providers, he no longer needed the switched outlet box, and was looking for a way to reuse it.
He hooked up the outlet box into the “battery powered” side of the UPS, and inserted a light bub into the normally closed half of the switch box. A 5v power supply was hooked into the “surge protection only” side of the UPS and is used to keep the relay switched. This causes the half of the switch box that is normally closed to remain open, and the light switched off. When power is lost, the 5v supply no longer switches the relay, and the light is turned on – powered by the UPS battery.
This is quite a useful hack if you happen to have a spare UPS sitting around – it sure beats scrambling around searching for a flashlight in the dark! | 28 | 26 | [
{
"comment_id": "338785",
"author": "Michael Bradley",
"timestamp": "2011-02-21T17:15:13",
"content": "I like it, I wonder how difficult it would be to stuff everything into the UPS, and have a battery backed outlet that comes on when power fails.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replie... | 1,760,377,269.683646 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/21/hackaday-links-february-21-2011/ | Hackaday Links: February 21, 2011 | Mike Szczys | [
"Hackaday links"
] | [
"bicycle",
"paper",
"projector",
"rake"
] | PCB Stand
Part PCB, part old IC, and held together with hot glue. It doesn’t take much to
make this electronics stand
, but it’ll certainly add to the geek level of your desk.
Decorate with light
This busy living room is actually decorated all in white. The patterns that give it life are
on lend from a projector
and what we’d imagine is some fantastic software. [Thanks MDV]
Flashing butt on your bike
[Eli] sewed lights and flex sensor into her jeans.
Now her butt flashes
in heart-shaped patterns as she rides. She actually robbed one of the flex sensors from this project to complete
that explosive high-five project
.
Mini-rake’s progress
A lathe and some sand that needs tending is all that [Spatula Tzar] needed to get this
zen garden rake
under way. We like how she used a vacuum bag to infuse the wood with mineral oil.
Paper and electrons
This collection of musical
projects forsakes common substrates
and builds the mess of circuit boards on pieces of paper. Not much information but the strangeness is worth a look. | 15 | 15 | [
{
"comment_id": "338778",
"author": "Sigg3",
"timestamp": "2011-02-21T16:58:56",
"content": "If you liked Spatula’s Zen Rake, he has some other cool projects on that site, such asleather touchpadand your very ownHAL 9000case mod.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
... | 1,760,377,269.404882 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/21/blinky-headgear/ | Blinky Headgear | Mike Szczys | [
"LED Hacks"
] | [
"batchpcb",
"f2013",
"msp430",
"visor"
] | [Everett Tom]
added some blinking LEDs to his visor
while honing his PCB design skills at the same time. He started with the
TI eZ430-F2013
for prototyping the blinking circuit along with its mode toggle buttons. Once this was worked out he used BatchPCB (a
low-cost professional board fab
option) to manufacture a board. The final design hosts an MSP430 F2013 microcontroller as well as the voltage regulator circuit that draws power from the 9V battery that hides inside the head band next to the board.
You guessed it, video after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOWVRbi0t-g&w=470] | 4 | 4 | [
{
"comment_id": "338768",
"author": "sqnewton",
"timestamp": "2011-02-21T16:22:20",
"content": "What’s that???",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "338837",
"author": "rasz",
"timestamp": "2011-02-21T18:14:51",
"content": "its a Pastiche ... | 1,760,377,269.348501 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/21/arduino-levitation/ | Arduino Levitation | Mike Szczys | [
"Arduino Hacks"
] | [
"hall effect",
"levitation",
"magnetic"
] | Here’s the proof that Arduino is a tool for serious prototyping and not just a toy. [Norbert Požár] built
a magnetic levitation device
that combines an Arduino with an electromagnetic driver circuit and a magnetic field sensing circuit. Unlike other
other levitation setups
that use optical sensing, this implementation uses a hall effect sensor on the electromagnet to maintain the distance between it, and the permanent magnet it is holding in midair. Check out the embedded video after the break and browse through
the overview page
so see how pleasing it is to do away with a frame around the floating object. This makes us wonder if it could be inverted in a way similar to
that magnetic scale
.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QunBD_fD04k&w=470]
[via
Dangerous Prototypes
] | 11 | 10 | [
{
"comment_id": "338701",
"author": "Phil",
"timestamp": "2011-02-21T14:29:21",
"content": "The Youtube-Link is to big.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "338711",
"author": "Zagro",
"timestamp": "2011-02-21T14:47:28",
"content": "ok i ... | 1,760,377,269.51884 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/21/motion-activated-monitor-wakeup/ | Motion Activated Monitor Wakeup | Mike Szczys | [
"computer hacks"
] | [
"2n3904",
"FireFighter",
"monitor",
"motion sensor",
"pir",
"sleep"
] | This hardware is used to keep a computer monitor awake when there is motion in the room. The monitor displays important information for firefighter in the vehicle bay, but only needs to be on when they are getting ready to go out on a call. The solution is a simple one,
a PIR sensor combines with a mouse for motion sensitive input
. When the PIR sensor detects motion it causes a mouse button click via a 2N3904 transistor. Now the monitor will not waste power or have burn-in over the long term, but whenever someone is in the room it will be displaying the information that the emergency workers need to know.
[Thanks Andy] | 15 | 15 | [
{
"comment_id": "338676",
"author": "elektrophreak",
"timestamp": "2011-02-21T13:13:17",
"content": "really cool hack!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "338680",
"author": "spiritplumber",
"timestamp": "2011-02-21T13:27:10",
"content":... | 1,760,377,269.466252 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/20/blasting-off-with-gps/ | Blasting Off With GPS | Mike Nathan | [
"gps hacks",
"Microcontrollers"
] | [
"gps",
"PICAXE",
"rockets"
] | Launching model rockets is a good time, but more often than not, it’s hard to tell how high the rocket went or how fast it moved – both essential facts when bragging about your latest flight. [Chris] recently built a
GPS-based altimeter
for the USC Rocket Propulsion Lab, so that they could track the performance of their latest project. The circuit is based off a Picaxe 18x and uses a GPS module to obtain NMEA altitude data. Once the data is obtained, it is stored on an external EEPROM to be read back after the rocket has been recovered.
[Chris] unfortunately does not have any pictures of the board he built, but he has made his circuit diagram and source code available. He reports that the logger worked perfectly aside from a small bit of time where the GPS module temporarily lost its satellite lock.
If you are interested in reading more about flight data recording and telemetry, be sure to
check this out
. | 23 | 23 | [
{
"comment_id": "338293",
"author": "mrbrt",
"timestamp": "2011-02-20T23:23:10",
"content": "That’s interesting. At first glance I thought the sattelite lock would have been lost due to the speed reached, as some modules are programmed to stop providing accurate data past certain altitudes/speeds so... | 1,760,377,269.741427 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/20/three-digit-binary-clock/ | Three Digit Binary Clock | Mike Szczys | [
"clock hacks"
] | [
"16f628a",
"binary clock",
"dorkbotpdx",
"pcb",
"pic"
] | Here’s
a three digit binary clock
that [Viktor] designed. It uses a multiplexed display to drive one digit at a time with a PIC 16F628A. The video after the break shows it ticking away, display hours, minutes, and seconds in blue LEDs. You may be wondering why those LEDs are not flush to the board? [Viktor] took the project one step further than most binary clock projects, designing a PCB to fit into the enclosure of an old laptop PSU and then having the board manufactured. With
options like DorkbotPDX groups orders
its has become quite inexpensive to do this and it’s really good practice for when you need to design a highly complicated board for that super-fantastic project of the future.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1rMXsoFN-E&w=470] | 8 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "338261",
"author": "Spork",
"timestamp": "2011-02-20T21:58:43",
"content": "A cool upgrade would be double sided with SMD LED’s/buttons.Then it could be mounted in a very small case.I enjoy the detailed writeup though, good work!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies... | 1,760,377,269.787957 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/25/a-vfd-clock-that-tells-the-time-then-tells-you-to-off/ | A VFD Clock That Tells The Time, Then Tells You To **** Off | Mike Nathan | [
"clock hacks"
] | [
"AVR",
"clock",
"vfd"
] | Clocks are relatively simple devices – they tell time, and most often sport a handful of other utilitarian features like alarms and radios. Rarely though, do you see a clock that will wake you up in the morning and also curse at you shortly thereafter. [Matt Evans] clearly thought that clocks need to pack a little more attitude,
so he built his girlfriend a clock
that not only tells time, but spouts off nasty phrases as well. What a lucky gal!
The clock was constructed using IV-17 VFD tubes, each bearing 16 light-able segments. It seemed wasteful to simply use the tubes to tell time, so [Matt] got busy adding other features to the clock. It has an alarm, a calendar that is always stuck on his girlfriend’s birthday, and an ambient light sensor to dim the tubes at night. It also sports a variable rudeness setting, allowing for mild insults when family members are present, and extremely foul language for when your frat brothers swing by.
He has plenty of pictures on his site, but we’re betting people will want to see schematics and some source code. After all, Mother’s Day is but a few months away! | 12 | 12 | [
{
"comment_id": "341867",
"author": "iChop",
"timestamp": "2011-02-25T19:08:47",
"content": "I LOVE these kinds of tube clocks!! Does anyone know of any kind of kits I could purchase to make one???????If not, I hope Matt Evans will post where he got the parts and how to build this one!!",
"pare... | 1,760,377,269.897817 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/25/propane-tank-ard/ | Propane Tank-ard | Kevin Dady | [
"home hacks"
] | [
"canteen",
"propane"
] | [hpstoutharrow’s] new instructable is a neat idea on how to re-use those single use small propane bottles by turning it into an
insulated canteen
. Once the bottles are emptied through normal use, the safety valve is popped loose and allowed to vent. There are also comments on the article that suggest that the bottle be submerged to ensure all gas is gone, and we think that is wise too.
Once safe to work on, the bottom is cut open and the stem is cut off leaving a empty shell, a soda bottle is shrunk down by boiling water inside of it for a little bit, then is fit inside the propane bottle. The top of the soda bottle is held in place by an O-ring, the safety pressure hole plugged up and the whole thing is filled with spray “expand-o-foam” locking everything in place and adding insulation.
Though using a thermoplastic bottle as its liner does not invite hot beverages to the party, it seems to do the job just fine for cold drinks, and it makes for a interesting conversation piece out on the campground.
Join us after the break for a quick how-to video.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcAK6SZ0_sI&w=450] | 22 | 22 | [
{
"comment_id": "341794",
"author": "Sobachatina",
"timestamp": "2011-02-25T18:08:16",
"content": "That is an awesome idea! Just for the funny looks you’d get drinking out of it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "341801",
"author": "Ben",
... | 1,760,377,270.09559 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/25/a-look-at-sonys-ongoing-war-against-hackers/ | A Look At Sony’s Ongoing War Against Hackers | Mike Nathan | [
"News"
] | [
"hackers",
"phillip torrone",
"sony"
] | [Phillip Torrone] recently wrote an article over at Make regarding Sony and their “
War on Makers, Hackers, and Innovators
“. In the article, he traces Sony’s history as a well-liked hardware company that once produced innovative products, to its current state as an enemy to all who would dare wield a screwdriver and soldering iron. He took quite a bit of time scouring the Internet to dig up very specific examples of Sony’s perceived assault on the hacking community. That’s not to say he simply lambasts the company and leaves it at that. Rather, he reflects on their past as a staple in nearly every American home, how they have changed since venturing into the content business, as well as what we might be able to do as hackers to change the way Sony treats its customers.
One specific example he mentions is the lawsuits that plagued the Sony Aibo modding scene, a case very near and dear to his heart. This scenario is one where the voice of the people was eventually heard, though too late to make a difference. He laments the loss of interest in the platform by the modding community as a clear cut example of the disastrous nature of Sony’s litigious nature.
You should definitely take a moment to read the article if you have the time. [Phillip] brings up some very good points, giving you plenty to consider the next time you make an electronics purchase, large or small.
We’d love to hear your take on the matter as well. | 60 | 50 | [
{
"comment_id": "341730",
"author": "Jordan",
"timestamp": "2011-02-25T17:05:05",
"content": "do those glasses… have screens in them?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "341743",
"author": "Juan Cubillo",
"timestamp": "2011-02-25T17:20:13",
... | 1,760,377,270.333611 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/25/racking-up-miles-on-bicycle-odometer/ | Racking Up Miles On A Bicycle Odometer | Noah Dunker | [
"hardware",
"Microcontrollers",
"Transportation Hacks"
] | [
"atmega1248",
"Atmel",
"bicycle",
"odometer"
] | [jonh] religiously tracks the miles he rides on his bicycle. When his odometer’s battery started getting low, he wanted a way to run the miles up to where they were before, since replacing the battery resets everything to zero. [jonh] used an Atmel microcontroller to
run up the miles on his bike computer
so he could pick right back up where he left off. There is definitely a
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
joke in here somewhere.
The bike computer itself is designed to plug into a base that connects to a magnet-triggered reed relay. It uses a wheel-mounted magnet to count the number of revolutions made and thus the distance traveled. [jonh] hooked up a simple microcontroller-driven circuit to these connectors to trick the bike computer into thinking it was moving, and moving fast! Since he knew the number of miles he wanted to sandbag onto the odometer, he was able to program it to run up the proper amount of miles and then stop. There’s no source code listing for the project, but this shouldn’t be too hard to reproduce. He provides a pencil-drawn schematic for the connection to the cyclometer from the microcontroller. At the end, there’s also some sage advice for those of you who are interested in building a decent hardware hacking lab on the cheap. | 27 | 27 | [
{
"comment_id": "341680",
"author": "biozz",
"timestamp": "2011-02-25T16:04:52",
"content": "someone invents a way to help us be healthy than someone else invents a way to cheat it XD",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "341682",
"author": "MrJac... | 1,760,377,270.032008 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/25/building-a-555-timer-from-discrete-components/ | Building A 555 Timer From Discrete Components | Noah Dunker | [
"hardware"
] | [
"555",
"analog",
"discrete components",
"electronics"
] | The 555 Design Contest shook a whole bunch of really creative circuits out of the trees, hence the 555-heavy content lately. While not technically part of the contest, [esalazar] wanted to know what made the 555 tick, literally! He started working on the project in a circuit simulator, then ultimately ended up building the three main logic blocks inside the familiar timer on pieces of copper-clad board. He’d built a
555 using discrete components
.
While this isn’t 100% compatible with the classic 555 IC, it covers the basics pretty well, and [esalazar] gets extra-credit points for embracing the hacker spirit of seeing for himself how stuff works while documenting it well and citing his references. | 18 | 18 | [
{
"comment_id": "341668",
"author": "walt",
"timestamp": "2011-02-25T15:49:33",
"content": "1st!cool idea. this could help others understand what happens inside of a 555.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "341675",
"author": "biozz",
"times... | 1,760,377,270.146436 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/25/digital-wavetable-oscillator/ | Digital Wavetable Oscillator | Kevin Dady | [
"Musical Hacks"
] | [
"oscillator",
"wavetable"
] | The
tabulaRasa
is a digital wave table oscillator, and features control of frequency, wave table selection, and interpolation. The device is split up into 2 parts. One is a pcb with a healthy amount of resistors, 3 potentiometers,
ST TL074 JFET
op amp, atmega328 and a SD socket.
The second part is software for your computer that allows you to edit or create your own waveforms. There are 3 different modes of control. Breakpoints, which allows you to set the waveform points and allows up to sixteen. Harmonic allows amplitude control over 16 harmonically-related sine waves, finally, the third mode lets you load in short sound clips.
Once you’re happy, save to a SD card and pop it into the board, and you’re ready to make some noise. The project page states at the end “tabulaRasa is in the last stages of development, and will be available soon.” so you cant get your hands on one just yet, but if you’re interested [Greg] has a kickstarter page setup where you can find out details on pricing.
| 9 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "341638",
"author": "bogdan",
"timestamp": "2011-02-25T14:26:40",
"content": "The project seems to be a powerful tool.I think that it would have been better if the waveforms were stored in RAM and the device would connect directly to the computer.Even sound clips could be played back... | 1,760,377,270.245306 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/25/hear-that-its-a-555-timer-am-radio/ | Hear That? It’s A 555 Timer AM Radio | Mike Nathan | [
"classic hacks",
"contests",
"Radio Hacks"
] | [
"555 timer",
"contest",
"radio"
] | [Eric] recently built an
AM radio based on a 555 timer
, and posted a few pictures to the Hack-a-Day Flickr pool. He used the 555 timer as an AM demodulator and power amplifier in order to drive the speaker. A hand-wound inductor is used to tune the signal which is then superimposed over the ramp signal produced by the circuit he built. [Eric] points out that he chose a CMOS 555 timer because of its superior performance in this particular application since the timer is used in a bit of a nontraditional manner. He shared his circuit diagram as well as a great video walking through each part of his design, finishing off with a demonstration of the radio, which can be seen below.
This is yet another great project that will be entered in the
555 Design Contest
– simple and elegant. We love seeing these, so keep them coming!
If you want to see more cool projects made by Hack-a-Day readers, be sure to
check out our Flickr pool
as well as the
forums
.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC72J2VOSH0&w=470] | 16 | 16 | [
{
"comment_id": "341623",
"author": "Dino",
"timestamp": "2011-02-25T13:33:33",
"content": "A nice example of true craftsmanship and innovative tinkering. Nice job!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "341632",
"author": "kabukicho2001 said,",
... | 1,760,377,270.195431 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/20/toy-helicopter-charging-fix/ | Toy Helicopter Charging Fix | Mike Szczys | [
"Toy Hacks"
] | [
"battery",
"charger",
"helicopter",
"pencil"
] | [Onefivefour] was surprised that his E-flite Blade MCX radio controlled helicopter came with a charger that used AA batteries to recharge the lithium batteries in the flying unit. Yeah, that’s a bit crazy. He set out to
modify the base unit to work with AC power
. There are four batteries inside this base unit, one of them powers the charge detector circuit and the others are used to juice-up the chopper’s rechargeable cells. He took a 5V regulated charger from a Motorola cellphone and modified it to interface with the contacts for the three AA cells. Like the
Magic Trackpad hack
, he did this without altering the holder by cutting a couple of pencils to length and attaching the positive and negative contacts from the AC charger to them. Check out the video after the break for a walk though, noting how he still has the option to go back to battery power if he so chooses.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgAXDoLi2qw] | 16 | 16 | [
{
"comment_id": "338220",
"author": "Ronin",
"timestamp": "2011-02-20T20:29:14",
"content": "Talk about timing. I literally just walked in from the other room after using the exact same helicopter as this. I had always thought about doing something similar, but I’m glad i saw this first because I ha... | 1,760,377,270.439066 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/20/rf-control-from-just-about-any-device/ | RF Control From Just About Any Device | Mike Szczys | [
"Linux Hacks",
"Wireless Hacks"
] | [
"bit bang",
"gpio",
"linux",
"RF",
"spi"
] | [Mirko] is working on a library that will allow you to
add RF control to just about any device
. The only requirement is that the device be capable of running a Linux kernel, and that it have a few GPIO pins available. One example is fairly straight forward,
a Netgear router
. Many, if not most routers run a Linux kernel natively and most have solder points on the board for unused IO pins so patching into the hardware is very straight forward. Less obvious and much more impressive is the hack seen in the image above. [Mirko] built
an SD card adapter cable and uses the contacts in the card reader
to bit bang four-wire SPI to communicate with that RF module. | 10 | 10 | [
{
"comment_id": "338194",
"author": "woutervddn",
"timestamp": "2011-02-20T19:05:27",
"content": "impressive.. I see a lot of uses for something like that.. Is there something like that for IR?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "338195",
"autho... | 1,760,377,270.386424 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/20/solar-powered-junkbot/ | Solar-powered Junkbot | Mike Nathan | [
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"junkbot",
"recycling",
"solar"
] | Instructables user [martzsam] recently
built a simple robot using miscellaneous junk he found around his house
. The first parts he scrounged up were a pair of 1.5v electric motors and some wire scraps, after which, he went to work on an old garden light. He detailed how to carefully remove the light’s solar panel as well as the charging circuit, which he used to power his robot. The pieces were mounted on some old erector set parts after a bit of rewiring, then the bot was set in motion. [martzsam] also mentions that he tweaked the solar panel’s charging circuit and battery to run the motors at half speed until light is shone on the panel, at which point the robot runs at full speed.
This project would be great to do with kids as it teaches the concepts of re-purposing common household items as well as allows them to use their imagination in designing a fun, yet simple robot. Gather up some old junk and your kids/nieces/nephews and get going!
Continue reading to see a quick video of the robot in action.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4K1reqKqI8&w=470] | 5 | 4 | [
{
"comment_id": "338182",
"author": "woutervddn",
"timestamp": "2011-02-20T18:43:33",
"content": "lets give it some eyes and a brain and this will be a very nice hack..Although I must say he gave me an idea of what to do with those old malfunctioning garden lights the last owner left behind",
"p... | 1,760,377,270.485723 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/20/thingiverse-receives-first-dmca-takedown/ | Thingiverse Receives First DMCA Takedown | Gerrit Coetzee | [
"News"
] | [
"3d",
"copyright",
"dmca",
"makerbot",
"penrose",
"printing",
"reprap",
"shapeways",
"thingiverse",
"triangle",
"Ulrich"
] | A landmark in home 3d printing was set when [Dr. Ulrich Schwanitz] sent a
DMCA
takedown notice to
Thingiverse.com
on users [
artur83
] and [
chylld’s
] takes on his
Penrose triangle model
. ([chylld’s] take is pictured above) While the takedown itself is highly debatable, we do think it’s cool that home 3d printing has come far enough to begin infringing on the copyrights of objects themselves. Right now media pirating has the front stage, but it’s not hard to look a little further into the crazy sci-fi universe that is our future and see a battle being fought over the rights to physical objects.
[via
Thingiverse Blog
] | 47 | 47 | [
{
"comment_id": "338132",
"author": "HARaaM",
"timestamp": "2011-02-20T17:08:57",
"content": "I want a Star Trek replicator.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "338136",
"author": "Ed Marshall",
"timestamp": "2011-02-20T17:19:42",
"conte... | 1,760,377,270.570508 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/20/analog-to-digital-converter-build/ | Analog To Digital Converter Build | Mike Nathan | [
"Microcontrollers"
] | [
"adc",
"atmega"
] | [Daniel Garcia] sent us a
quick tutorial he put together
demonstrating how to use an ATmega168 to perform analog to digital conversions. This timely tutorial would make for a nice complimentary project for those of you who decided to build your own digital to analog converter after reading
our post from a few days ago
.
The ATmega168 has six pins that are typically used for digital I/O, but they can be used for analog input as well. In his example, he uses a trimpot as an analog input device, connecting it to one of the aforementioned analog pins. Its value is returned as a 16-bit number which is then displayed on the attached LCD. The LCD display and the breadboard layout used in this project are covered in his previous writeups, so be sure to give those a read through before working through this tutorial. | 13 | 13 | [
{
"comment_id": "338113",
"author": "Dekar",
"timestamp": "2011-02-20T16:24:26",
"content": "Boring! Seriously, how’s that a hack?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "338115",
"author": "MigSantiago",
"timestamp": "2011-02-20T16:32:32",
... | 1,760,377,270.704032 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/20/power-adapter-for-digital-cameras-without-an-external-jack/ | Power Adapter For Digital Cameras Without An External Jack | Mike Szczys | [
"digital cameras hacks"
] | [
"ac",
"adapter",
"battery",
"book scanner"
] | [Kusnick] is into using digital camera rigs for book scanning. The problem is that keeping the batteries charged is a pain, but there’s no external AC adapter jack which would allow him to use the mains. His solution was to
build his own adapter to replace the batteries
.
There are some fancy book scanning
setups that allow you to just flip through the pages
, but it’s much simpler to
build a rig that uses two cameras
. [Kusnick’s] setup is the latter, which means he’s found two inexpensive cameras that don’t need to be mobile. The first attempt at making an adapter featured a block of acrylic with the positive and negative contacts connected to a shielded cord which he then hooked to an external supply. The camera would come on and then turn off citing that the cameras were “for use with compatible battery only”. Turns out there’s some type of verification circuit built into the proprietary batteries. But the solution to that came quite easily; remove the circuit board from the battery and insert it in the adapter to trick the camera.
[Thanks Daniel] | 21 | 21 | [
{
"comment_id": "338092",
"author": "Dino",
"timestamp": "2011-02-20T15:02:43",
"content": "Sweet! I built one of these once for a Sony Handicam. It was a block of wood that I carved into the shape of the battery with the terminals glued in place. Nice job.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
... | 1,760,377,270.766226 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/19/free-as-in-free-beer-arm-kit/ | Free (…as In ‘free Beer’) ARM Kit | Jake W | [
"Microcontrollers",
"News"
] | [
"arm",
"cortex",
"dev",
"free",
"kit",
"m0"
] | NXP holds a lot of market share for their ARM based solutions as it is. That’s why we were a little surprised when we found a link on their website announcing that they were giving away
free LPCXpresso
development boards
, based on their
Cortex-M0
line.
Catches? Unfortunately there are a few to get the board shipped and running. In order to do so, you must…
register with a corporate email address
…the promo is targeted at engineers
use the crippled IDE supplied with the board
…due to hard to find (non-existent?) documentation for the integrated LPC-Link
upload an original video of the physical destruction of a competing board to the NXP website
While
killing your Arduino
may not sound like the most fun, some qualified readers may be interested in moving up to 32-bits for a price that is hard to beat. | 109 | 50 | [
{
"comment_id": "337615",
"author": "j_jwalrus",
"timestamp": "2011-02-19T19:43:16",
"content": "On the advice of Chris Gammell from The Amphour, I think ill pass.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "337618",
"author": "NatureTM",
"timestamp... | 1,760,377,271.096421 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/18/valentines-gift-counts-the-days-spent-together/ | Valentine’s Gift Counts The Days Spent Together | Mike Szczys | [
"Arduino Hacks"
] | [
"arduino mini",
"RF",
"valentine"
] | [Vegard Paulsen] dug deep down to the romantic geek at his core and built this
box that counts the days he’s spent together with his Valentine
. As you can see, it uses a four-digit seven segment display installed in the lid of a wooden box. An Arduino mini is responsible for driving the display, but as you might already know, to keep accurate time you’re going to need a reliable clock source. Instead of using
a temperature compensated crystal oscillator like the ChronoDot
he decided to pull time data from the Internet via a pair of RF modules.
His closing comments mention that this display will only work for around 27 years but he figures he can always build a bigger display. We’d keep this around, physically unaltered for sentimental value, but switch to a hexadecimal readout to track just over 179 years. Maybe that’s a bit too geeky. | 20 | 20 | [
{
"comment_id": "337001",
"author": "nedFlanders",
"timestamp": "2011-02-18T22:16:57",
"content": "27 years countdown to midlife crisis and picking up a hot new 22 year old!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "337007",
"author": "zeb",
"time... | 1,760,377,270.846796 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/18/sniff-ethernet-with-a-throwing-star/ | Sniff Ethernet With A Throwing Star | Kevin Dady | [
"Security Hacks"
] | [
"network",
"sniff"
] | [Michael Ossmann] came up with a nifty little device that arranges RJ45 plugs into a plus shape for the intent of sniffing Ethernet packets, and named it the “Throwing Star LAN Tap”. While the original design worked fine it does suffer some limitations such as being limited to 10/100 base networks, and one way only. This new version of the “
Throwing Star LAN Tap
” fixes those and adds some much needed convenience.
Gone are the male plugs, which requires couplers and are prone to break, and fiddly splices in favor of a throwing star shaped pcb, and female sockets. 1000 base networks are supported, but due to the workings of 1000 base and wanting to keep the device passive, capacitors are added to filter out the signal and force the network to drop down to 100 base. Sure, it may be an ugly hack, but it’s an ugly hack that fits in your pocket. | 14 | 14 | [
{
"comment_id": "336976",
"author": "luckycharms",
"timestamp": "2011-02-18T21:26:35",
"content": "Born is the age of the Hacker-Ninjas.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "336982",
"author": "biozz",
"timestamp": "2011-02-18T21:40:25",
... | 1,760,377,270.949811 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/02/18/bluetooth-enabled-wii-nunchuck/ | Bluetooth-enabled Wii Nunchuck | Mike Nathan | [
"Nintendo Hacks",
"Nintendo Wii Hacks",
"Wireless Hacks"
] | [
"bluetooth",
"pic",
"wii"
] | The wireless controller for the Nintendo Wii has been used in many a hack due to its simple to use Bluetooth interface. The nunchuck portion of the controller however, has always required a physical tether to the wireless controller, or an aftermarket wireless dongle. [Rousselmanu]
is looking to change that
with his Bluetooth-enabled wireless Wii nunchuck. He is able to retrieve a slew of data from the nunchuck, including information from all of the accelerometers, buttons, as well as the joystick. The data is read into a PIC MCU and relayed via serial to a Bluetooth module he purchased online.
The Bluetooth module looks fairly easy to interface in Linux, and [Rousselmanu] has a video showing off how well the nunchuck can be used to interact with 3D models. He admits that the controller is a bit ugly at the moment as all the components don’t quite fit so well, but future revisions will surely remedy that.
Keep reading to see a video of the nunchuck in action. | 16 | 14 | [
{
"comment_id": "336911",
"author": "Doublet",
"timestamp": "2011-02-18T20:16:11",
"content": "Please, oh please never record your screen with a videocamera. Use Camstudio (http://camstudio.org/– opensource) or whatever. I’m just tired of seeing filmed screens on videos of hacks.",
"parent_id": ... | 1,760,377,270.898274 |
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