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https://hackaday.com/2009/07/06/parts-ferrite-beads/ | Parts: Ferrite Beads | Ian | [
"Misc Hacks",
"Parts"
] | [
"choosing parts",
"electronics",
"ferrite beads",
"impedance",
"parts"
] | Ferrite beads
(L1 in the photo) filter high frequency power supply noise by converting it into a tiny amount of heat. Power supply noise can cause various problems for many parts, especially in analog audio and display circuits.
Ferrite beads are simple, but choosing one can be confusing because they’re not commonly used by hobbyists. Most designs will still work if you omit the ferrite bead(s), but beads are so cheap there’s no reason to sacrifice the added reliability they provide. We describe how we pick ferrite beads for
our projects
after the break.
A ferrite bead is rated for current, impedance, and resistance; see this
Mouser listing
for an example. Unless a datasheet or circuit requests specific bead characteristics, we choose a bead rated for sufficient current, and ignore the impedance and resistance values.
If the bead is for a power supply, we determine the maximum possible current the circuit will use and find a bead rated for double that amount. Last week we calculated the
the Bus Pirate’s
worst-case current consumption as 525ma, so we looked at beads rated for at least 1000ma. We used
this one
, which is rated for 1500ma and costs 10 cents.
Sometimes a ferrite bead is used to filter the power supply for one specific part of a circuit. We used a dedicated bead to filter the LCD bias voltage on the
DIY digital picture frame
, and with the ENC28J60’s ethernet transceiver on the
web server on a business card
. These parts only consume a few milliamps, so we used a smaller
200ma ferrite bead
($0.11).
Like this post? Check out the
parts posts
you may have missed. Want to request a part post? Please leave your suggestions in the comments. | 34 | 33 | [
{
"comment_id": "80536",
"author": "MJS",
"timestamp": "2009-07-06T17:45:20",
"content": "I really wouldn’t mind seeing a post on buck-boost converters and the like :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "80539",
"author": "Some MEng MIET",
"... | 1,760,377,632.090898 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/07/06/tennis-practice-for-hackers/ | Tennis Practice For Hackers | Caleb Kraft | [
"Nintendo Wii Hacks"
] | [
"tennis",
"wiimote"
] | Here’s an interesting WiiMote based project. [Mans] is a tennis fan, though a bit out of practice. With the tennis season coming to a rather climactic end, he got excited and wanted to brush up on his skills. He found the toss part of his serve to be very sloppy. Being a hacker, the first thing he thought was that there must be some
way of tracking and graphing his toss so that he could improve it
in an intelligent and controlled manner. The WiiMote seemed a perfect fit for this. Only a small modification was necessary, an external button wired to the internal “-” button. This switch is active while he’s holding the ball, and inactive when the ball is released. In this manner, he can track and chart his toss to find out exactly where he needs improvement. He uses [Johnny Chung Lee]’s code, with a small but unspecified modification to write the accelerometer data to a text file.
As he points out, this could be very usefull for any repetitive movement. Whith accelerometers getting cheaper and cheaper, there’s nothing stopping you from using multiple ones either. Imagine a golf rig to analyze your swing, Maybe a boxing rig that measured your hip twist and arm extension, or possibly a yoyo glove to tell you if your flick needs some help. Great job [Mans]. | 15 | 15 | [
{
"comment_id": "80504",
"author": "Cmore",
"timestamp": "2009-07-06T15:07:01",
"content": "Hey isnt the serve ‘Toss’, like the easiest part of tennis? Cant you just stand in one spot and practice just tossing?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": ... | 1,760,377,631.950797 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/07/06/automated-dorm-room-door/ | Automated Dorm Room Door | Caleb Kraft | [
"home hacks",
"iphone hacks"
] | [
"app",
"door",
"dorm",
"lock"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46s7nE72nvI]
[Chris] wrote in to tell us about this project he did while living in the dorms. He built a system to
automate his dorm room door
. It handles unlocking and opening/closing the door via iPhone, secret knock, and even the key. The lock/knob portion is handled by a servo while the opening/closing action is hydraulic. After living with it for a year, he says that it never gets old, but there were a few bugs. Apparently it would randomly open in the middle of the night sometimes. If you’re interested in doing something like this, but not damaging the door, maybe you should check out the
RFID dorm door lock project
. | 26 | 26 | [
{
"comment_id": "80498",
"author": "George",
"timestamp": "2009-07-06T14:08:59",
"content": "A solution to a problem that doesn’t exist.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "80500",
"author": "grovenstien",
"timestamp": "2009-07-06T14:27:41",... | 1,760,377,632.484947 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/07/03/tiniest-bot-sort-of-cnc-controlled/ | Tiniest Bot, Sort Of. CNC Controlled | Caleb Kraft | [
"cnc hacks",
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"cnc",
"magnetic",
"micro",
"small",
"tiny"
] | Here’s an interesting concept,
the bot pictured above has no internal control mechanisms
. His claims to have built the smallest bot are dubious, considering it requires a much larger control platform to function, so lets just set that aside and look at how it works. The bot itself is basically a hollow box with a hinged manipulator mounted on it. He has then built a modified CNC type structure with various magnets below a platform. The magnets can move the bot and control the manipulator (assuming the bot isn’t trying to pick up anything magnetic). He talks about this being a possible control scheme for smaller bots, though we think he would have to make some major advancements to his magnetic controls for accuracy’s sake. As for his claims of being the smallest, well, we’re sure we’ve seem similarly sized bots,
even hexapods
, that were completely self contained. | 32 | 32 | [
{
"comment_id": "80250",
"author": "chris",
"timestamp": "2009-07-03T15:52:54",
"content": "This thing is so cute! it would be a great hit at cocktail partys.Not a robot.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "80252",
"author": "andrew",
"times... | 1,760,377,632.018831 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/07/03/wtf-o-meter/ | WTF-O-meter | Caleb Kraft | [
"Arduino Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"wtf"
] | Here’s something every office probably needs. Ours does at least. It’s a
WTF counter
. When the office gets just a little too weird, someone hits the button and it gets logged. It’s probably pretty easy to judge the day by the WTF chart. The button is connected to an Arduino that updates the status on a local web server. We can imagine a nice bar graph of WTFs per day, or possibly a pie chart with normal time vs WTF time. Unfortunately, imagining is all we’re going to do. They didn’t include any examples of the visualizations. Can you imagine saying something to a co worker just for them to promptly march over and slap the WTF button? Maybe we don’t need one. | 25 | 25 | [
{
"comment_id": "80244",
"author": "zed",
"timestamp": "2009-07-03T14:49:04",
"content": "will order 10….NOW.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "80245",
"author": "pascal",
"timestamp": "2009-07-03T14:58:53",
"content": "@zed, yeah, I t... | 1,760,377,632.150161 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/07/02/sparkfun-open-sources-latest-kits/ | SparkFun Open-sources Latest Kits | Zach Banks | [
"Misc Hacks",
"News"
] | [
"adafruit",
"AVR",
"clockit",
"electronics",
"open source",
"osh",
"sparkfun"
] | SparkFun has started to
release some of their kits as open-source hardware
. Projects such as
ClockIt
, a simple alarm clock, have their schematics, board designs, and source code released under the
CC-by-sa
license. Although most of their widgets and projects already had example code and schematics available, they are now using an open-source license. They are joining
adafruit
and
EMSL
and others in pushing OSH, but it is interesting to see an established company turn to this. Normally, startups do this to encourage early adoption.
[via
adafruit
] | 8 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "80164",
"author": "Brennen Bearnes",
"timestamp": "2009-07-03T00:23:22",
"content": "For what it’s worth, I’m a web developer / sysadmin / general purpose nerd at SFE, and we’re also working on being a little better at open source _methods_. I’m hoping to get most of our in-house pr... | 1,760,377,632.426178 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/07/02/self-portrait-machine/ | Self-portrait Machine | Zach Banks | [
"cnc hacks",
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"art",
"drawing",
"ink",
"portrait",
"robot",
"we make money not art",
"wmmna"
] | [Jen Hui Liao] created a device that guides the user into drawing a portrait of themselves. Dubbed
Self-Portrait Machine
, it comments on how much in society is created by machines and we are dependent on them. Unlike
previous drawing robots
, the user is part of the sketching process. The machine holds the users hands and uses stepper motors and servos to move them around like a LOGO turtle. Liao promises to have more details available soon. Video of the machine after the jump.
[youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGd6QQJ7v2k%5D | 23 | 23 | [
{
"comment_id": "80142",
"author": "Parker",
"timestamp": "2009-07-02T21:45:24",
"content": "Weird. Cool idea!!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "80146",
"author": "Vince",
"timestamp": "2009-07-02T22:01:37",
"content": "I would disagr... | 1,760,377,632.270255 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/07/02/crack-wep-using-backtrack/ | Crack WEP Using BackTrack | Zach Banks | [
"downloads hacks",
"Security Hacks",
"Wireless Hacks"
] | [
"backtrack",
"lifehacker",
"linux",
"security",
"wep",
"wep cracking",
"wifi",
"wireless"
] | Lifehacker wrote a guide for
cracking a WiFi network’s WEP password using BackTrack
.
BackTrack
is a Linux live CD used for security testing and comes with the tools needed to break WEP. Not just any wireless card will work for this; you need one that
supports packet injection
. The crack works by collecting legitimate packets then replaying them several times in order to generate data. They point out that this method can be hit-or-miss, especially if there are few other users on the network, as the crack requires authenticated packets. We covered
cracking WEP before
, but using BackTrack should smooth out compatibility issues. | 48 | 48 | [
{
"comment_id": "80128",
"author": "poof",
"timestamp": "2009-07-02T20:53:42",
"content": "If there are few users on the network and not many IVs are being captured, you can use an injecting attack to generate more. It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed it, but it really beats sitting around for an ... | 1,760,377,631.891812 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/07/02/scratchbot-whiskers-to-the-rescue/ | Scratchbot: Whiskers To The Rescue | Caleb Kraft | [
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"rat",
"rescue",
"whisker"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTekO_RQCzE]
Scratchbot is designed as a rescue bot
, going places where there is low visibility. It’s defining feature is the fact that it uses “whiskers” to feel for things. We feel like this is a little gimmicky. If it is a low visibility situation, wouldn’t IR or audio, possibly sonar be a more effective? How would it differentiate between different physical obstacles? Are the whiskers really new? Aren’t they really just bump sensors? Maybe they have something a little more complicated going on. There was
another recent bot that utilized whiskers
and compared different tactile profiles to determine what it was touching. | 12 | 12 | [
{
"comment_id": "80119",
"author": "Peter",
"timestamp": "2009-07-02T19:56:16",
"content": "The guy touches the wiskers, and the bot immediately points it’s ‘head’ at it. Without feeling where it is in the meantime…So I’d say there’s someting more complex going on.",
"parent_id": null,
"dept... | 1,760,377,632.526109 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/07/02/how-to-bus-pirate-probe-cable/ | How-to: Bus Pirate Probe Cable | Ian | [
"Featured",
"how-to",
"Misc Hacks",
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"bus pirate",
"bus pirate cable",
"cable",
"probe",
"test hooks",
"test lead",
"test probes",
"tweezer"
] | Update, Saturday July 4th, 2009:
All preorders are closed.
A probe cable makes it easy to connect
the Bus Pirate
to a circuit and get hacking. Good test clips make quick connections on cramped PCBs without causing short circuits. We made two cables for the
Bus Pirate v2
, keep reading for an overview of our designs and list of part suppliers.
Friday, July 3, 2009 is the last day to pre-order a Bus Pirate. There’s only two days left to
get your own Bus Pirate
, fully assembled and shipped worldwide, for only $30.
Overview
We use these cables to connect the Bus Pirate’s I/O pins to a microchip or test circuit. A cable consists of a 2×5 connector, a cable, and some kind of attachable probe like an alligator clip or test hook.
The gray cable (top) is a ‘junk box’ cable, we recycled it from scrap parts and old computer hardware. The ‘expensive’ cable (bottom) uses high quality and special-order parts.
2x5pin female connector
The Bus Pirate’s I/O header is two rows of five 0.1″ spaced pins. We used a 2×5 arrangement because 2x5pin
female ribbon cable connectors
are common and cheap. We decided against a single row of 10 pins because the connector is an expensive specialty item.
The pin names are shown above, and are silk-screened on the bottom of the PCB. See the
Bus Pirate page
for detailed descriptions of each pin function.
The junk box cable uses a 2x5pin female connector from an old PC ISA card.
The expensive cable uses a black connector with a reinforced cable holder. Mouser has
gray connectors
($0.69) and
black connectors
($1.15).
Ribbon cable connectors have internal pins that pierce the cable when the top part is pressed onto the bottom part.
Ribbon cable
Standard 2x5pin female connectors attach to
0.05″
10-strand ribbon cable. The wire thickness is usually 22, 24, or 26 AWG. We think 12inches (30cm) is a useful length that doesn’t get in the way.
Grey ribbon cable is pretty common. We salvaged a piece from an old computer connector, you might get lucky and find one with a 2×5 connector already attached.
A color coded cable makes it easy to identify each connection. DigiKey has
5 foot sections
($3.03), Mouser has it by the foot (
$1.16
,
$1.19
).
Ribbon cable is cheap and readily available, but it tends to tangle and kink. A really nice probe could use a ribbon cable stub attached to thicker test leads.
Test clips
Test clips are the most important part of the cable. They have to be easy to position, and maintain contact with the circuit. Alligator clips work, but there’s a lot of exposed metal that can create short circuits. Professional test clips have a grabber that retracts into the probe leaving less metal exposed.
Alligator clips
The junk box cable has alligator clip probes, we pulled them off test leads
like these
(40 leads for $12). You could also use loose
red and black clips
(20 for $2.30).
Remember to put the rubber housing on the cable before soldering the wire to the alligator clip, it won’t go on later. In the photos you can see that some of our covers are cut to fit over the front of the clip because we forgot.
Round test hooks
This is the classic, round-bodied test hook. These are great for grabbing onto 0.1″ pin headers, wires, and the leads of through-hole components. The hooks are usually too big to use with surface mount components, and the round body makes it hard to fit more than a few in a small space.
Test hooks are easy to position. Squeeze the probe to extend a single metal hook, grab something, then release. The hook retracts into the body of the probe, securing it in place and preventing short circuits.
Most hooks come apart by pulling the top away from the body. Put the test lead through the hole in the cap and solder it to the metal tab. Push the halves together when the joint is cool.
DigiKey
($17.26) and
Fry’s
($14.95) have multi-colored hooks in sets of 10. Deal Extreme has dirt-cheap 10 packs of
yellow
($2.30) and
black
($2.33) hooks, but the reviews say the quality matches the price so buy extra (via [
haku
]).
Flat test tweezers
Tweezer-probes are great for clipping onto the legs of through-hole, surface mount, and many smaller chips. They usually have a flat body so they fit better in tight spaces than round hook probes.
This type of probe has tiny tweezers instead of a hook. Accidental short circuits are rare because there’s so little exposed metal when the tweezers retract.
Most tweezer-probes pull apart and have a metal solder tab inside. Run a cable strand through the hole in the cap, solder it to the metal tab, and then press the halves back together.
Tweezer quality varies dramatically among brands, we’ve used no-name probes that bend easily or don’t grip well. The
X- series micro-hooks
from E-Z-Hook are the Cadillac of tweezer-probes, we first used the XKM version that comes with the
Saleae Logic
. They’re intended to fit specialty test leads, but it’s easy to solder a wire to them instead. About $2 each, available directly from the
E-Z-Hook website
.
Conclusion
We highly recommend a cable with hook or tweezer-probes for secure connections without causing shorts. The right probe depends on the parts you use. Round test hooks work best with through-hole parts and wires. Flat test tweezers attach well to small, surface mount chips.
Please share any additional part sources in the comments. We did our best to provide a variety of sources, but there’s going to be some great places we’ve missed.
Friday, July 3, 2009 is the last day to pre-order a Bus Pirate. There’s only two days left to
get your own Bus Pirate
, fully assembled and shipped worldwide, for only $30. | 24 | 24 | [
{
"comment_id": "80114",
"author": "Nick",
"timestamp": "2009-07-02T19:40:53",
"content": "Excellent info. I’ll have to make a set of each for my Bus Pirate. whenever it arrives.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "80117",
"author": "brian redb... | 1,760,377,632.214648 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/07/05/battery-desulfator/ | Battery Desulfator | Eliot | [
"Tool Hacks",
"Transportation Hacks"
] | [
"12v",
"ATmega169",
"automotive battery",
"battery",
"battery desulfator",
"desulfator",
"mikey sklar",
"youtube"
] | Hack a Day favorite [Mikey Sklar] is back with a new project.
Mini-D is a battery desulfator
. If a 12V lead-acid battery sits with a voltage below 12.3V, sulfur crystals will begin to form on the lead plates. This crystal growth increases the internal resistance and eventually makes the battery unusable. A battery desulfator sends high frequency pulses through the battery to create a resonance that will break up the crystals. On a 60lb automotive battery, it will take approximately three weeks to completely desulfate. You can find schematics plus a dozen lines of code for the ATmega169 on his site. Embedded below is a video where he explains the device and other techniques like load testing.
[youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MJZMkQawB8%5D | 30 | 27 | [
{
"comment_id": "80462",
"author": "sean",
"timestamp": "2009-07-06T01:09:29",
"content": "this looks much similar than the last one you guys posted,http://hackaday.com/2009/02/07/desulfator-in-an-altoids-tin/since you don’t have to modify a charger",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"repl... | 1,760,377,632.713882 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/07/05/capacitive-discharge-spot-welder-update/ | Capacitive Discharge Spot Welder Update | Eliot | [
"Misc Hacks",
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"capacitive dischage welding",
"capacitive discharge",
"podecoet",
"spot welder",
"update",
"welder"
] | It seems one of our commenters took great umbrage with [PodeCoet] not documenting his
capacitive discharge cutting
properly. [PodeCoet] had been waiting till he got the full spot welder working before publishing, but he’s expedited the work after all our whining. Check out his
full writeup of the device in its current state
. It uses a 1Farad audio cap for storage. A dsPIC monitors all of the voltage sources and regulates charging. A nice touch is the tactile switch on the electrode. | 22 | 22 | [
{
"comment_id": "80454",
"author": "Wwhat",
"timestamp": "2009-07-05T23:55:35",
"content": "Now that’s a capacitor",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "80457",
"author": "Wwhat",
"timestamp": "2009-07-06T00:05:54",
"content": "And he sure... | 1,760,377,632.649644 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/07/05/home-power-monitoring/ | Home Power Monitoring | Eliot | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"home hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"dns",
"ethernet shield",
"power monitor",
"webserver",
"wrt54g"
] | Reader [john]
finished up his home power monitor
over the holiday weekend. It uses a pair of current transducers clamped onto the mains. These output 0-3V and are read by the Arduino’s ADC. The Arduino averages samples over a 20 second period, calculates power used, and uploads it using an Ethernet Shield. The shield can’t do DNS lookups, so he uses a WRT54G to negotiate with the remote webserver. He admits that the system could be more accurate; it can’t detect small loads like wall warts. He also says that money could be saved by talking serial to the router instead of over ethernet. Here are the
current usage charts
.
You can find many power monitor projects like this in out
Home Hacks category
. | 25 | 25 | [
{
"comment_id": "80456",
"author": "amk",
"timestamp": "2009-07-06T00:03:25",
"content": "it would be easy to have it estimate something like cost per hour, and predict your electricity bill. install something like that in every US home, and I’ll bet energy consumption would drop significantly.",
... | 1,760,377,632.58967 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/07/04/world-smallest-tv-b-gone/ | World Smallest TV-B-Gone | Zach Banks | [
"home entertainment hacks",
"Peripherals Hacks"
] | [
"attiny",
"attiny85",
"AVR",
"controller",
"electronics",
"ir",
"ir leds",
"led",
"microcontroller",
"remote",
"tv",
"tv-b-gone",
"tvbgone"
] | The
TV-B-Gone
has proven to be a
dangerous
and versatile gadget. At Interactive Matter, they created an even smaller version with more sneaking potential. Called the µTVBG, it packs an entire TV-B-Gone in a 1.4 x 2.5 cm footprint and even has room for a programming header. He found some
high-powered surface-mount IR LEDs
that would match the original TV-B-Gone’s power. To drive the board, they used a CR1220 button battery on the bottom of the board. The whole thing is smaller than your thumb and should be easier to hide next time you wreak havoc. | 41 | 41 | [
{
"comment_id": "80372",
"author": "jay",
"timestamp": "2009-07-04T18:04:37",
"content": "you missed the linkhttp://interactive-matter.org/2009/07/%C2%B5tvbg-tv-b-gone-clone/#more-319",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "80376",
"author": "skinne... | 1,760,377,633.051904 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/07/04/capacitive-discharge-cutting/ | Capacitive Discharge Cutting | Steve Watkins | [
"home hacks",
"Misc Hacks",
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"capacitive discharge",
"controller",
"diy",
"electronics",
"microcontroller",
"youtube"
] | Capacitive discharge cutting provides more control than linear transformer versions. A very large capacitor is charged to a precise voltage and then discharged through the material to produce a controlled cut. The same device can also be used for spot and tab welding. A video of copper roof flashing being cut is embedded below. An example of a linear transformer can be found in our our
How-to: build your own spot welder
.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-hJGK1fxmw&feature=channel_page] | 25 | 25 | [
{
"comment_id": "80352",
"author": "nemo",
"timestamp": "2009-07-04T15:04:17",
"content": "that looks scary and very dangerous, but awesome.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "80354",
"author": "nio",
"timestamp": "2009-07-04T15:23:37",
... | 1,760,377,633.112527 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/07/03/lego-modded-antenna-tuner/ | Lego Modded Antenna Tuner | Steve Watkins | [
"home entertainment hacks",
"home hacks",
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"electronics",
"gear",
"gear motor",
"lego",
"motor",
"radio",
"servo",
"tuner"
] | This
antenna tuner is controlled remotely
using geared motors and legos. The tuner needed to be closer to the antenna for performance reasons. This created a problem; most of the radio gear is inside while the tuner is outside. The
gear motors
and Legos combine to form a closed loop servo, operating two air core caps and an inductor switch. A control box placed near the radio is hard wired to the modded tuner outside. We would like to see something like this under gesture control using the
Wii MotionPlus + Arduino
. | 15 | 15 | [
{
"comment_id": "80297",
"author": "cirictech",
"timestamp": "2009-07-03T21:46:52",
"content": "really cool. i’ll be simple but pure genius.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "80298",
"author": "macegr",
"timestamp": "2009-07-03T22:03:15",
... | 1,760,377,632.970887 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/07/03/last-day-to-preorder-your-bus-pirate/ | Last Day To Preorder Your Bus Pirate | Ian | [
"News"
] | [
"bus pirate",
"bus pirate order updates",
"news",
"preorder"
] | Update, Saturday July 4th, 2009:
All preorders are closed.
Today is the last day to pre-order a Bus Pirate.
Get your own Bus Pirate
, fully assembled and shipped worldwide, for only $30. We don’t plan to make more soon, this could be your last chance.
A special shout out to our partner,
Seeed Studio
, who handled the rush of orders like pros. The first pre-order is already being manufactured, and will ship as soon as possible. Seeed still has a few
V2a PCBs
if you’d like to roll your own Bus Pirate.
You’ve made this pre-order a huge success, and we’d like to make more projects available in the future. Were you just interested in the Bus Pirate? Should we arrange pre-orders of future Hack a Day hardware? Are there any
past projects
that we should revisit?
Thanks for the artwork [
Aaron
], licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0. | 31 | 31 | [
{
"comment_id": "80273",
"author": "bro",
"timestamp": "2009-07-03T18:22:44",
"content": "yeah – we definitely need more like the bus-pirate project – especially for those people who don’t have the possibility to etch a pcb this is great.(yeah I know you can order the pcb from various sources – but ... | 1,760,377,633.1839 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/07/02/clever-stair-climbing-robot/ | Clever Stair Climbing Robot | Gerrit Coetzee | [
"Robots Hacks",
"Uncategorized"
] | [
"bump sensor",
"climb",
"continuous rotation",
"mechanical design",
"microcontroller",
"pic",
"picaxe. picaxe28",
"robot",
"robots",
"servo",
"sharp IR",
"stair"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QReb1hLfdbE]
Stairs are one of the most commonly faced mobility challenges for a robot.
This robot’s design
eliminates the need for a complex drive train or computer, and instead uses a clever mechanical design to climb stairs. Version three of the robot uses five servos modified for continuous rotation, a Picaxe28,
sharp IR sensors
, and bump sensors.
[via
BotJunkie
] | 22 | 22 | [
{
"comment_id": "80104",
"author": "googfan",
"timestamp": "2009-07-02T18:39:52",
"content": "but what if the stairs are wider/smaller/steeper?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "80105",
"author": "googfan",
"timestamp": "2009-07-02T18:40:0... | 1,760,377,633.410502 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/07/02/t-g-i-m-b-o-e-j-turns-one/ | T.G.I.M.B.O.E.J. Turns One | Caleb Kraft | [
"Misc Hacks",
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"junk box",
"pay it forward",
"tgimboej"
] | The Great Internet Migratory Box of Electronics Junk, or
T.G.I.M.B.O.E.J. has turned one
. In the last year, they’ve learned a lot of things. They learned that lots of people are willing to contribute. Hundreds have signed up on the site to participate. Theyve also learned that laziness is the key road block on this project. The boxes that have stalled generally sitcollecting dust, simply because someone hasn’t bothered to ship it off. If you’re curious what kinds of stuff ends up in one of these,
check our initial post
. There aren’t any guarantees though, it all depends on what people toss in. | 14 | 14 | [
{
"comment_id": "80071",
"author": "biqut2",
"timestamp": "2009-07-02T14:08:43",
"content": "interesting project, been watching this since the inital post, reminds me of the early days of trading software through the mail",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comme... | 1,760,377,633.29573 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/07/01/poor-mans-thermographic-camera/ | Poor Man’s Thermographic Camera | Steve Watkins | [
"digital cameras hacks",
"home hacks",
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"camera",
"electronics",
"Imaging",
"infrared",
"ir",
"Thermal",
"Thermographic",
"thermographic camera"
] | Using an IR thermometer, there are two ways to go about
building a thermographic camera
. The first uses a pan and tilt head. Scan lines are emulated, as a computer controls panning from left to right, taking a temperature sample from each step. Vertical resolution is accomplished by tilting. Another method uses a web cam attached to the thermometer. The thermometer’s laser pointer is captured with temperature annotations, as the computer records the field of view. We think the best outcome can be found with a combination of both methods. The video embedded below demonstrates the results. This would be a good addition to the
Autonomous paintball sentry
.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1fV20gTEr0]
[Thanks Rolf] | 24 | 24 | [
{
"comment_id": "80011",
"author": "Haku",
"timestamp": "2009-07-02T00:40:36",
"content": "Great stuff, I’ve been wondering how long until I see someone hack a handheld IR thermometer in this manner, mounting it on a couple of servos to scan an area & create a rudimentary thermal image.I’m still pla... | 1,760,377,633.245387 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/07/01/firework-ignitors-and-controllers-roundup/ | Firework Ignitors And Controllers Roundup | Steve Watkins | [
"Cellphone Hacks",
"Roundup"
] | [
"4th of july",
"arduino",
"cellphone",
"controller",
"diode",
"diy",
"electronics",
"fireworks",
"ignitors",
"match",
"microcontroller",
"wireless"
] | With the 4th of July around the corner, we thought it would be a good idea to give a controller wrap up and show you how to make some ignitors. Last year we covered a
microcontroller based fireworks launcher
. If you like the idea of a controller but don’t want to run all the wire, we have
the wireless fireworks controller
. Adding a little twist to the wireless scene are
cell phone triggered fireworks
. Maybe controllers are not your cup of tea, you could try to
microwave your fireworks
. After the break we show you how to make ignitors from a diode and a match.
Using a 1N914 diode, match, and 4 ohm ballast you can make your own ignitors. Using the leads for support, the diode is attached to the match. A current is passed through the device to cause rapid heating. The match head and component must touch one another, in order to ignite. In the video embedded below we show you exactly how.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwyIKEndOxg] | 30 | 30 | [
{
"comment_id": "79977",
"author": "Adam Ziegler",
"timestamp": "2009-07-01T21:56:43",
"content": "strand of steel wool < $.05",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "79982",
"author": "xrazorwirex",
"timestamp": "2009-07-01T22:40:14",
"cont... | 1,760,377,633.36082 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/07/01/first-hovering-ornithopter-nav/ | First Hovering Ornithopter NAV | Caleb Kraft | [
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"aerial",
"bird",
"drone",
"flap",
"flying",
"nav",
"ornithopter",
"wing"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cov7-XWUa18&w=470]
DARPA
has awarded an extension to AeroVironment for their work on the Nano Air Vehicle project
. The prototype seen above, called Mercury, is an ornithopter which means it flaps it’s wings. It is the first to show controlled hovering. Look closely, there’s no rudder or tail. Mercury uses the two wings for both lift and control. Ornithopters themselves aren’t new,
we’ve even covered them before
. Usually they use the flapping wings for propulson and a tail to steer as they travel like an airplane. We would really love to see some detail shots of Mercury.
[via
slashdot
] | 24 | 23 | [
{
"comment_id": "79957",
"author": "Brian",
"timestamp": "2009-07-01T20:01:39",
"content": "Found a page that has at least a 3-D render of the device.http://ftnews.firetrench.com/?p=14229Not sure if thats the final design, or an early concept render.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"rep... | 1,760,377,633.61454 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/07/01/twittering-keylogger/ | Twittering Keylogger | Zach Banks | [
"downloads hacks",
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"c++",
"keylogger",
"kyle",
"kyle mcdonald",
"kylemcdonald",
"openframeworks",
"software",
"twitter"
] | [Kyle McDonald] sent in his latest project,
a software keylogger that twitters what you type
. He wrote it using C++ and
OpenFrameworks
. It logs each keystroke, then it
posts to twitter
140 characters at a time. To protect himself, he set up a whitelist of private strings like passwords and credit card numbers that would be stripped before posting. If the
twypewriter
followed him, his keystrokes could be recreated.
[thanks Kyle] | 16 | 16 | [
{
"comment_id": "79955",
"author": "Frank Groeneveld",
"timestamp": "2009-07-01T19:49:10",
"content": "I think you meant his private strings are on the _blacklist_ instead of the _whitelist_.Anyways, cool project :P",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id"... | 1,760,377,633.559443 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/07/01/mixed-voltage-interfacing-with-the-bus-pirate/ | Mixed Voltage Interfacing With The Bus Pirate | Ian | [
"Misc Hacks",
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"bus pirate",
"mixed voltage interfacing",
"open collector bus",
"pull-up resistors"
] | Most of the parts we use operate at 3.3volts, but we still run into a lot of old 5volt stuff, and an occasional 2.5volt or 1.8volt part. This post explains how to use the
Bus Pirate’s
open collector
pin mode to interface with parts at different voltages.
We’ve got more details and some example scenarios below the break. Yup, this is another
Bus Pirate
post. It’ll all be over soon though, because there’s a few days left to
get your own Bus Pirate
for $30, fully assembled and shipped worldwide.
Overview
The Bus Pirate has a normal pin mode and an open collector pin mode (also called
high-impedance
or HiZ). Normal pin mode can tolerate up to 5.5volts on input pins, but the output pins are fixed at 3.3volts. The open collector pin mode uses a
pull-up resistor
to set the bus voltage to something other than 3.3volts. Normal or open collector pin mode is offered as a configuration option after you select a protocol library in the Bus Pirate terminal (menu m). Some bus types always require open collector outputs with pull-up resistors, like
1-wire
and
I2C
.
The image above shows a representation of normal and open collector pin functions.
Normal pin mode
Normal pins switch between the positive supply voltage (high state, usually 1) and ground (low state, usually 0), in the Bus Pirate that’s 3.3volts and 0volts respectively. A normal pin is depicted on the left, switch 1 (S1) toggles the output between supply (V+) and ground (GND).
Open collector mode
In open collector mode, pins switch between a ‘disconnected’ state (high impedance) and ground (low state, usually 0). The voltage that signals a high state is supplied by a pull-up resistor (R1). Without a pull-up resistor the attached devices will never register a high state. We can feed any voltage into the pull-up resistors that the Bus Pirate will tolerate, so we can use this mode to interface devices above and below 3.3volts.
An open collector output is depicted on the right. Switch 2 (S2) can only connect to ground. A resistor (R1) connected to the supply voltage (V+) holds the bus high. Most microcontroller pins are
tri-state
and become high impedance when configured as an input.
This technique isn’t without disadvantages. The maximum possible bus speed is much lower, and the pull-up resistors use a bit of extra current. Make sure every device you connect can tolerate the voltage you plan to use, most 3.3volt devices don’t have 5volt tolerant pins.
Usage examples
Scenario 1
– Bus Pirate interfacing 3.3volt UART/SPI/JTAG/MIDI bus
The Bus Pirate operates at 3.3volts, use normal pin outputs with no pull-up resistors.
Scenario 2
– Bus Pirate interfacing 5volt UART/SPI/JTAG/MIDI bus
The Bus pirate inputs are 5volt tolerant, but the output is only at 3.3volts. Use open collector outputs (HiZ) with pull-up resistors connected to the 5volt power supply.
Scenario 3
– Bus Pirate interfacing 2volt UART/SPI/JTAG/MIDI bus
The Bus pirate output is 3.3volts, which might damage a 2volt part. Use open collector outputs (HiZ) with pull-up resistors connected to the 2volt power supply.
Scenario 4
– Bus Pirate interfacing a 1-wire or I2C bus between 1.8volts and 5volts
1-wire and I2C are bi-directional, open collector buses. They always require a pull-up resistor to create the high bus state. Use pull-up resistors connected to the 1.8volt to 5volt power supply. | 7 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "79948",
"author": "eric",
"timestamp": "2009-07-01T19:02:23",
"content": "is the switch symbolizing the changing states in the PIC and everything right of the switch is outside the PIC? if not, i don’t think i understand.i hope the bus pirate is still so cool when i get mine in 7 we... | 1,760,377,633.658165 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/07/01/the-snow-clock/ | The Snow Clock | Caleb Kraft | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"home hacks"
] | [
"alarm clock",
"arduino",
"snow day"
] | Snow days are great, but generally you still have to wake up to find out if it is a snow day. [insingertech] decided to make a system to solve this problem. He made an
alarm clock that would automatically de activate if school is cancelled
. What a pleasant surprise it would be to just wake up and find that you had been allowed to sleep in. It is using an Arduino and a python script to control the state of the alarm based off of an online school closing announcement. You can download the software from the instructable. | 20 | 20 | [
{
"comment_id": "79922",
"author": "Choscura",
"timestamp": "2009-07-01T15:15:31",
"content": "Great idea! I’ll certainly build one of these if I ever get to live in a place with snow again.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "79924",
"author": ... | 1,760,377,633.760334 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/30/custom-car-door-keypad/ | Custom Car Door Keypad | Zach Banks | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"home hacks",
"Transportation Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"arduino nano",
"batchpcb",
"car",
"dodge caliber",
"door lock",
"keypad"
] | [Michael] has a keypad in his previous car’s door and he missed it enough to
hack one into his Dodge Caliber
. He bought a Ford keypad and mounted it inside his door with some
custom electronics
. He started with an Arduino nano to receive and authenticate button presses. This then splices into wires in the door that control the door lock. The program has a 5-digit code to unlock the door, but simply pressing 1 twice will lock the doors. He also implemented a lockout feature to prevent people from brute-forcing the combination.
Although it isn’t wireless
, it’s significantly simpler.
[thanks Michael] | 25 | 25 | [
{
"comment_id": "79843",
"author": "skitchin",
"timestamp": "2009-06-30T20:25:15",
"content": "He did an absolutely flawless job on this whole project. I think whats most impressive would be the size of the set on this guy for dremeling into his own car",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"... | 1,760,377,633.821919 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/30/massive-led-screen-project/ | Massive LED Screen Project | Caleb Kraft | [
"LED Hacks"
] | [
"basicmicro",
"led",
"rgb"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nILHGU1qJzY&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.basicmicro.com%2F&feature=player_embedded]
The folks over at basicmicro.com are working on a
massive LED display
. They currently have one 32×32 RGB panel working. It displays 50 fps at 140 hz but the one above is only running at about 24 fps. The final display will be 40 of these panels. This thing is going to be massive. We have to wonder how this compares, financially and performance wise, to the commercial signage that displays videos. | 29 | 29 | [
{
"comment_id": "79833",
"author": "landon",
"timestamp": "2009-06-30T19:23:19",
"content": "that is gonna be epic when its finished.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "79837",
"author": "Ken",
"timestamp": "2009-06-30T19:42:19",
"conte... | 1,760,377,633.922015 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/30/parts-spi-eeprom-25aa25lc/ | Parts: SPI EEPROM (25AA/25LC) | Ian | [
"Misc Hacks",
"Parts",
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"bus pirate",
"data storage",
"eeprom",
"parts",
"spi"
] | Microchip’s
25AA/25LC
EEPROMs
are data storage chips with a simple 3-wire interface. The 25AA/LC is an
SPI
version of the common
24AA/LC I2C EEPROM
. It comes in capacities of 128bytes to 128kilobytes. We looked at the smallest, the 128byte
25AA010A
.
There are Bus Pirate demonstrations for most types of serial EEPROMs. Check out our previous 1-wire (
DS2431
) and I2C (
24LC1025
) EEPROM posts.
Continue below to see our test circuit and a demonstration of the 25AA010 EEPROM. We used
the Bus Pirate
to play with this chip from our PC. For a limited time you can
get your own Bus Pirate
, fully assembled and shipped worldwide, for only $30.
25AA010A
SPI EEPROM memory, 128bytes (
Octopart search
, $0.70).
Datasheet
(PDF).
The schematic above shows a simple test circuit that should work with any 25AA/25LC SPI EEPROM. It’s a good idea to use a 0.1uF decoupling capacitor (C1) on the power pin in a real circuit, but we didn’t use one for our demonstration. We also connected the write protect (WP) and hold (HOLD) pins to the supply voltage (V+) to disable these features.
Bus Pirate
25AA/LC (pin #)
CS
CS (1)
MISO
SO (2)
MOSI
SI (5)
CLK
SCK (6)
V+
WP (3)
V+
HOLD (7)
V+ (3.3volts)
VCC (8)
GND
GND (4)
Vpullup
VCC (8)
We used our
Bus Pirate universal serial interface
to demonstrate this chip, but the command sequences will be the same for any setup. We connected the Bus Pirate to the 25AA010 as shown in the table above. We setup the Bus Pirate for SPI mode (M, 5) with normal outputs, and enabled the on-board power supply (capital ‘W’).
25AA parts work from 1.8volts to 5.5volts, 25LC parts have a 2.5volt minimum. We used a 3.3volt supply to power the chip, and interfaced it using the Bus Pirate’s normal 3.3volt pin outputs.
You could also power the chip from the Bus Pirate’s 5volt supply. Interface the chip at 5volts by choosing open drain pin type (HiZ) during the mode configuration, then hold the bus high with pull-up resistors connected to 5volts.
Interfacing
Page 7 of the datasheet has a complete list of interface commands. This demonstration shows the minimum operations needed to write and retrieve data.
SPI>[0b110]
<–Bus Pirate command syntax
CS ENABLED
<– Chip select enabled (0 volts)
WRITE: 0x06
<–Write enable command
CS DISABLED
<– Chip select disabled (V+)
SPI>
A valid write enable command is required before data can be saved to the EEPROM. Enable the chip select signal to wake the chip ([), send the write enable command (0b110 binary, or 0x06 in hexadecimal), and then disable chip select (]).
SPI>[0b10 0 1 2 3 4 5]
<– Bus Pirate command syntax
CS ENABLED
<– Chip select enabled (0volts)
WRITE: 0x02
<– Write data command
WRITE: 0x00
<– Write address (*sometimes 2 bytes)
WRITE: 0x01
<– Data to write (5 bytes)
WRITE: 0x02
WRITE: 0x03
WRITE: 0x04
WRITE: 0x05
CS DISABLED
<– Chip select disabled (V+)
SPI>
Store data in the EEPROM by sending the write command (0x02), the address to start writing (0x00), and the bytes to write (the values 1 to 5).
Up to 16 bytes can be written in a single operation. All writes must be on the same page of memory, see datasheet page 6 for details. EEPROMs larger than 256 bytes use 16 bit (2 byte) addresses.
SPI>[0b11 0 r:5]
<– Bus Pirate command syntax
CS ENABLED
<– Chip select enabled (0volts)
WRITE: 0x03
<–Read data command
WRITE: 0x00
<–Read address (*sometimes 2 bytes)
BULK READ 0x05 BYTES:
0x01 0x02 0x03 0x04 0x05
<– The data we wrote earlier
CS DISABLED
<– Chip select disabled (V+)
SPI>
Read back the values to verify the write operation. Send the read command (0x03) and the address to start reading at (0x00), then read 5 bytes from the chip (r:5). The output should match the values we wrote earlier.
*EEPROMs larger than 256 bytes use 16 bit (2 byte) addresses. Enter a two byte address such as “0 0” if you’re using one of these EEPROMs.
Like this post? Check out the
parts posts
you may have missed. Want to request a part post? Please leave your suggestions in the comments. | 11 | 11 | [
{
"comment_id": "79830",
"author": "Mark barnes",
"timestamp": "2009-06-30T19:10:12",
"content": "hackaday have bus pirates on the brain??",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "79835",
"author": "luke",
"timestamp": "2009-06-30T19:33:24",
... | 1,760,377,634.073685 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/30/simplest-macro-hack-ever/ | Simplest Macro Hack Ever | Caleb Kraft | [
"digital cameras hacks"
] | [
"macro",
"photography",
"SLR"
] | This quick little hack is beautiful in its simplicity.
Need a macro lens to play with
? Simply rip the lens out of a pair of binoculars and tape it to the end of your slr lens. The result is pretty good. If you need something a little higher quality, you could always
hack an extra AF lens
. | 22 | 22 | [
{
"comment_id": "79793",
"author": "Ken",
"timestamp": "2009-06-30T14:43:00",
"content": "wow, if you can get the lens placed right, that could make some decent pictures",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "79796",
"author": "sunjester",
"tim... | 1,760,377,634.131401 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/30/bus-pirate-preorder-update/ | Bus Pirate Preorder Update | Ian | [
"hardware",
"News",
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"bus pirate",
"bus pirate order updates",
"pre-order"
] | We’re only four days into the
Bus Pirate pre-order
, and we’ve exhausted the supply of
PIC24FJ64GA002s
available in Shenzhen. Thank you for supporting Hack a Day’s first official hardware pre-order. You helped make it a huge success, and we definitely want to do it again in the future.
We weren’t kidding about the PIC shortage. Seeed sourced all they could from Shenzhen, and then tried Hong Kong. It’ll take 4 to 6 weeks to get more.
If you already ordered a Bus Pirate then nothing changes, your Bus Pirate will ship ASAP. In fact, PCB production should start a few days early.
The first pre-order item name starts with “[Preorder]”.
New orders are now forwarded to a second pre-order. The new pre-order will take 4 to 6 weeks longer. It should ship about 6 to 8 weeks after July 3, 2009, but we’ll try our best to get it out sooner.
The new pre-order item name starts with “[Preorder 2]”.
Read more about the
Bus Pirate in our latest How-to
. Thank you again for your support! | 15 | 15 | [
{
"comment_id": "79769",
"author": "Tixlegeek",
"timestamp": "2009-06-30T09:55:40",
"content": "Bigre, like we tell in franceI’m not walking on the gold, but it may be a great studying subject!++ Tix.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "79772",
... | 1,760,377,633.974744 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/29/wireshark-1-2-0-available/ | Wireshark 1.2.0 Available | Eliot | [
"downloads hacks",
"Security Hacks"
] | [
"ethereal",
"geoip",
"lifehacker",
"network analysis",
"openstreetmap",
"packet sniffer",
"wireshark"
] | Everyone’s favorite packet sniffer has a new stable release.
Wireshark 1.2.0
has a slew of new features. They’ve included a 64-bit Windows installer and improved their OSX support. A number of new protocols are recognized and filter selection autocompletes. One of the more interesting additions is the combined GeoIP and
OpenStreetMap
lookups. We’re excited about this new release as Wireshark has proven an indispensable tool in the past for figure out exactly what was going on on our network.
[via
Lifehacker
] | 10 | 10 | [
{
"comment_id": "79722",
"author": "googfan",
"timestamp": "2009-06-30T01:32:51",
"content": "now all it needs is a wep cracker.totally unrelated, i just built a tater gun that shoots spuds 350 yards!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "79725",
... | 1,760,377,634.020757 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/29/otto-beat-slicing-interface/ | OTTO, Beat Slicing Interface | Eliot | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"digital audio hacks",
"Peripherals Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"beat slicing",
"cdm",
"create digital music",
"max msp",
"maxmsp",
"monome",
"otto",
"sample",
"tangible interface"
] | Create Digital Music has a great post on
[Luca De Rosso]’s OTTO
. Built as part of his masters’ thesis, it’s a unique tangible music interface. You load a sample into the software which displays it on the instrument surface. The user can then manipulate the sample using various hardware inputs while watching the LED representation. The device uses just one Arduino for the display and inputs. It works with Max/MSP and is designed to give the performer only the information they truly need. You can find more pictures of the
device on Flickr
and a picture of the
guts on CDM
. Embedded below is the ‘Getting Started’ video that shows it in use.
[youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-h2xj0reQ1Q%5D | 12 | 12 | [
{
"comment_id": "79720",
"author": "Steve Shockley",
"timestamp": "2009-06-30T00:26:46",
"content": "Cool, I haven’t seen a Simon for years.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "79734",
"author": "Adam Ziegler",
"timestamp": "2009-06-30T03:30... | 1,760,377,634.179095 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/29/motors-and-microcontrollers-101/ | Motors And Microcontrollers 101 | Gerrit Coetzee | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"atmega",
"ATmega168",
"AVR",
"control",
"microcontroller",
"motor",
"nerdkits",
"pwm"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnWJki-zwsE]
[Humberto] from NerdKits sends in the newest addition to their
excellent collection of videos
. This video goes over the basics of DC motor control with microcontrollers. They begin by showing nine experiments and observations that can be done by the average hacker with a multimeter, motor, LED, and jumperwire. Using the results from these they show how to model and calculate the properties of a motor. Lastly, it shows how to control a motor using PWM. They have
supplemental text and demonstration code for an ATmega168
on their website. | 7 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "79688",
"author": "beaker",
"timestamp": "2009-06-29T21:12:50",
"content": "this is great stuff, keep up the good work.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "79692",
"author": "Chris",
"timestamp": "2009-06-29T21:56:54",
"... | 1,760,377,634.275142 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/29/parts-shiftbrite-rgb-led-module-a6281/ | Parts: ShiftBrite RGB LED Module (A6281) | Ian | [
"LED Hacks",
"Misc Hacks",
"Parts"
] | [
"blinkenlights",
"bus pirate",
"electronics",
"led",
"parts",
"serial interface",
"shiftbrite",
"spi"
] | Macetech’s
ShiftBrite
is a high-power RGB LED coupled with an
Allegro A6281
backpack. The A6281 uses three 10bit
pulse-width modulators
to mix millions of colors using the red, green, and blue elements in the RGB LED. Multiple modules can be chained together for bigger projects, like the
ShiftBrite table
.
Below the break we demonstrate a ShiftBrite module using
the Bus Pirate
. For a limited time you can
get your own Bus Pirate
, fully assembled and shipped worldwide, for only $30.
ShiftBrite
RGB LED module (
Macetech
, $4.99). ShiftBrite
datasheet and example code
, Allegro
A6281
datasheet
(PDF).
The ShiftBrite module is a complete A6281 development board. It doesn’t require any extra parts, just a 5-9volt supply.
The A6281 is one of the most complete RGB LED driver ICs, but it’s only made in a tiny QFN package. The ShiftBrite is a good way to try the A6281 without soldering a small chip.
A bunch of A6281 modules can be chained together. Each module repeats all of the serial input signals on separate output pins, so the A6281 will work over long cable runs.
Bus Pirate
ShiftBrite
MOSI
DI
CLK
CI
CS
LI
AUX
EI
5volts
V+
Vpullup
V+
GND
GND
We used our
Bus Pirate universal serial interface
to demonstrate the ShiftBrite, but the command sequences will be the same for any microcontroller. We connected the Bus Pirate to the ShiftBrite as shown in the table above.
We setup the Bus Pirate for raw3wire mode (M, 8), and chose open drain outputs (Hi-Z) so we can interface the ShiftBrite at 5volts. The Bus Pirate can’t output 5volts directly, so we enabled the bus pull-up resistors (menu ‘p’ in v2) and attached the pull-up resistor voltage input pin to the 5volt supply. Finally, we enabled the on-board power supply (capital ‘W’).
Interfacing
The LED driver output is only active when the enable pin (EI) is held low.
RAW3WIRE>A
<– capital ‘A’, EI pin high, output disabled
AUX HIGH
RAW3WIRE>a
<– small ‘a’, EI pin low, output active
AUX LOW
RAW3WIRE>
We used the Bus Pirate’s auxiliary pin to toggle the A6281’s enable pin, but you could also bypass this feature by wiring EI directly to ground. A small ‘a’ in the Bus Pirate terminal takes the AUX/EI pin connection low, enabling the LED output.
Two commands update the A6281 settings. The configuration command controls dot correction and clock settings. The LED pulse-width modulator (PWM) command updates the three 10bit values that set the red, green, and blue channel brightness. Both commands are 32 bits (4 bytes) long, bit 30 selects the configuration or pulse-width modulator command. Refer to the chart above, or datasheet page 7.
The interface protocol is like
SPI
, but the master-input-slave-output pin is unused. Data is sent most significant bit first, starting with bit 31. Commands are sent by clocking 32 bits into the chip and then toggling the latch pin.
Before we can start mixing colors, we need to setup the A628a’s internal clock and write the dot correction values.
RAW3WIRE>0b01000111 0b11110001 0b11111100 0b01111111 ][
WRITE: 0x47
<–write 32bits of data
WRITE: 0xF1
WRITE: 0xFC
WRITE: 0x7F
CS DISABLED
<–latch pin high
CS ENABLED
<–latch pin low
RAW3WIRE>
We wrote the values in binary so it’s easy to follow along in the table above. Remember that bit 31 is sent first, so the order of bits shown here is opposite of what is shown in the table.
The complete setup command is 32 bits (4 bytes) long. Bit 30 sets this as a configuration command (1). Bit 7 and 8 configure the clock source, value 00 configures the 800KHz internal oscillator (datasheet page 7). Three 7bit ‘dot correction’ values fine tune the LED color channels if you want to correct a wonky pixel in a large array (see the register locations in the table above). We set all the dot correction values to full (1111111). Several bits trigger test functions or don’t have a purpose, these should be entered as 0.
After entering 32 bits, toggle the A6281 latch pin (][) to lock the data into the register. Now that the chip is configured and the output enabled, we can finally play with the LED.
RAW3WIRE>0b00111111 0b11111111 0b11111111 0b11111111 ][
WRITE: 0x3F
WRITE: 0xFF
WRITE: 0xFF
WRITE: 0xFF
CS DISABLED
CS ENABLED
RAW3WIRE>
First, turn all the colors to full. Bit 31 (0) is ignored, bit 30 (0) indicates a LED pulse-width modulator update command, and the remaining bits set all three channels to 100%. The three PWM values control the output intensity of each color as follows: blue (bits 29:20), red (bits 19:10), and green (bits 9:0). Raise and lower the latch pin (][) to end the command.
Next, test each each color individually.
RAW3WIRE>0b00111111 0b11110000 0b00000000 0b00000000 ][
WRITE: 0x3F
WRITE: 0xF0
WRITE: 0x00
WRITE: 0x00
CS DISABLED
CS ENABLED
RAW3WIRE>
Bit 30 (0) signals an LED PWM update command, followed by a 100% setting for the blue channel (1111111111) and 0% settings for the red and green channels. When we toggle the latch pin (][) the new values are saved and the LED color changes to blue.
RAW3WIRE>0b00000000 0b00001111 0b11111100 0b00000000 ][
WRITE: 0x00
WRITE: 0x0F
WRITE: 0xFC
WRITE: 0x00
CS DISABLED
CS ENABLED
RAW3WIRE>
This time we’ll set the LED to 100% red. Bit 30 (0) signals an LED PWM update command, followed by a 0% setting for the blue channel, a 100% setting for the red channel (1111111111), and a 0% setting for green. When we toggle the latch pin (][) the LED color changes to red.
RAW3WIRE>0b00000000 0b00000000 0b00000011 0b11111111 ][
WRITE: 0x00
WRITE: 0x00
WRITE: 0x03
WRITE: 0xFF
CS DISABLED
CS ENABLED
RAW3WIRE>
Finally, we set the LED to 100% green. Bit 30 signals an LED PWM update, followed by 0% settings for the blue and red channels, and a 100% setting for the green channel (1111111111). Toggle the latch pin (][) and the LED color changes to green.
Like this post? Check out the
parts posts
you may have missed. Want to request a part post? Please leave your suggestions in the comments.
Hack a Day review disclosure
: Macetech gave us a couple free
ShiftBrites at Maker Faire 2008
. | 11 | 11 | [
{
"comment_id": "79693",
"author": "TRB",
"timestamp": "2009-06-29T22:02:30",
"content": "What kind of probes are those? I’d love to get a set.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "79694",
"author": "Haku",
"timestamp": "2009-06-29T22:11:51",... | 1,760,377,634.233767 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/29/barbies-web-rover/ | Barbie’s Web Rover | Caleb Kraft | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"Robots Hacks",
"Wireless Hacks"
] | [
"radio controlled",
"rover",
"web enabled"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zrb58Pcuos0]
[Hunter, Kyle, and Dylan] sent us some information on their Barbie Web Rover. It’s an old barbie power wheels jeep that’s been converted to a web enabled remote control car. They ripped out the old drive train and tore out the steering system. The rear tires are now independently driven for steering. It’s using an Arduino to control the motors and an Acer Aspire loaded with linux for the higher functions. It’s cool that they mention the farthest test being over 1600 miles away, but when it’s web enabled, does distance really matter?
They mention that the coolness factor is proportionate to the size and we have to agree, as long as they keep it small enough to not cause any real damage. You can
build a web enabled rover with a little more effort from just a router
, if you don’t want to give up your laptop. | 6 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "79677",
"author": "AU518987077",
"timestamp": "2009-06-29T17:45:08",
"content": "and nasa spent how much on their rovers?heh heh heh good work, keep it up.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "79678",
"author": "Shane",
"time... | 1,760,377,634.471475 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/29/d-touch-tangible-drum-interface/ | D-touch Tangible Drum Interface | Caleb Kraft | [
"digital audio hacks",
"Peripherals Hacks"
] | [
"sequencer",
"tangible interface",
"web cam"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmGP3eCOF5A]
yes, drums are tangible. We know. What this is, however, is a
tangible interface that is a drum machine
. The software is freely available for download, after registration. For hardware, all you need is a webcam, a computer, and a way to print out the pieces. D-Touch is cross platform which is very nice. Please note that the software will not run until you activate it by putting in your user account from their site. If you like this project, you might also get a kick out of the
Go Sequencer
. | 6 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "79659",
"author": "Jeff",
"timestamp": "2009-06-29T15:29:08",
"content": "Cool idea. I think TrackMate does it better since it records the rotation of the pieces as well which provides more information. For example TrackMate can set individual volumes of the drums.http://trackmate... | 1,760,377,634.513557 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/28/ikea-led-matrix/ | Ikea LED Matrix | Zach Banks | [
"LED Hacks"
] | [
"64pixels",
"display",
"frame",
"ikea",
"led",
"led matrix",
"MAX7219",
"multiplex",
"pic"
] | [Spikenzie] has created an
8×8 LED array that fits inside an ikea frame
. He multiplexed the 64 red LEDs on a PCB with connections on the back. He then used a
MAX7129
, an LED multiplexer and driver, driven by a PIC over SPI to do animations and play pong. He then encased the array in laser-cut cardboard and white acrylic to get large dots. This entire assembly was then placed inside an Ikea
RIBBA picture frame
. The result is an aesthetic homebrew display that is easy to control.
Related:
64pixels are enough | 9 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "79614",
"author": "matula",
"timestamp": "2009-06-28T23:33:37",
"content": "typo, he used a max7219.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "79623",
"author": "maxster",
"timestamp": "2009-06-29T02:39:23",
"content": "This s... | 1,760,377,634.556936 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/28/wii-balance-board/ | Wii Balance Board | Caleb Kraft | [
"computer hacks",
"Nintendo Wii Hacks",
"Peripherals Hacks"
] | [
"balance",
"linux",
"python",
"wii",
"wiimote"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4UciZLl2Hk]
[Matt Cutts], head developer for google’s anti spam team, describes how to attach a
Wii balance board to a linux computer
. He even shows how to make a GUI to show the input. The entire project is done in about 200 lines of python.The process assumes that you can already make a bluetooth connection to a WiiMote, but if you can’t,
he’s got instructions for that too
.
[via
hackawii
] | 10 | 10 | [
{
"comment_id": "79580",
"author": "Adam Ziegler",
"timestamp": "2009-06-28T16:15:34",
"content": "Cool!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "79582",
"author": "Maki",
"timestamp": "2009-06-28T17:18:40",
"content": "This would be awesome ... | 1,760,377,634.742492 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/27/palm-pre-mojo-sdk-leaked/ | Palm Pre Mojo SDK Leaked | Zach Banks | [
"Cellphone Hacks",
"News",
"Palm Pre Hacks"
] | [
"cellphone",
"leak",
"mojo",
"palm",
"pre",
"preinsiders",
"sdk"
] | Pre Insiders
has reported that the Pre’s
Mojo SDK
has been leaked to the internet. Palm was
planning an early access program
, eventually releasing the SDK by the end of the summer, but this leak has accelerated the process. They are posting several download links, including torrents, but they warn developers to use the tools wisely.
Related:
Palm Pre teardown
[via
techmeme
] | 12 | 12 | [
{
"comment_id": "79539",
"author": "sinoth",
"timestamp": "2009-06-28T04:58:26",
"content": "“wisely”? Really? Will the fabric of reality be torn asunder if the SDK is used improperly?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "79540",
"author": "HaD... | 1,760,377,634.869774 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/27/motori-the-plotter/ | Motöri The Plotter | Caleb Kraft | [
"cnc hacks",
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"drawing",
"etching",
"plotter"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ES61MbSmpc]
The
Motori plotter
is fast and high precision. One image shows that it is drawing lines at .5mm. Like others in the flickr set, we keep thinking of how we could apply this to PCB creation. Great job [svofski]. If you want one that’s not as precise, but might have a much cooler drawing mechanism, you might want to check out the
lego arm plotter we posted back in May
. | 27 | 26 | [
{
"comment_id": "79487",
"author": "JackTheVendicator",
"timestamp": "2009-06-27T16:50:09",
"content": "I think the pencil could be replaced with a conductive pen",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "79488",
"author": "Laserbeak43",
"timestam... | 1,760,377,634.938616 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/27/avr-rfid-tag/ | AVR RFID Tag | Zach Banks | [
"Peripherals Hacks"
] | [
"attiny85",
"AVR",
"coil",
"diy",
"em4102",
"ghetto",
"rfid",
"rfid chip"
] | [pc486] sent in his hack that
uses an ATtiny85 to act like an EM4102, a chip used for RFID tags
. Minimally, all that is needed is the AVR and a coil, but he recommends some filtering capacitors. Depending on the size of the coil, different frequencies and ranges can be achieved. This project actually includes several hacks, such as using the coil for not only power, but a clock signal. The coil is actually able to power the chip without being connected to the power pins due to clamping diodes on the connected pins. The firmware is short but available on
subversion
.
Related:
Scratch-built RFID tags | 29 | 28 | [
{
"comment_id": "79479",
"author": "mosfetkiller",
"timestamp": "2009-06-27T15:24:55",
"content": "I love those tiny AVRs. This is a very nice project I will probably try out myself some time.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "79480",
"author"... | 1,760,377,634.80386 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/26/idisplay-webcam-multitouch/ | IDisplay, Webcam Multitouch | Eliot | [
"Misc Hacks",
"Multitouch Hacks",
"Video Hacks"
] | [
"c++",
"idisplay",
"lahiru",
"lcd",
"multitouch",
"nui group",
"opencv",
"openframeworks",
"pinch",
"tuio",
"webcam"
] | [youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlLY0zic7u0%5D
Embedded above is an interesting multitouch demo by [Lahiru]. The goal of the project was to find an easy way to
retrofit current LCDs for multitouch
. Instead of using infrared or capacitive recognition, it uses a standard webcam mounted overhead. To calibrate, you draw polygon around the desktop screen as the webcam sees it. The camera can identify the location of markers placed on the screen and their color. iDisplay can also recognize hands making the pinch motion and sends these as touch events via TUIO, so it works with existing touch software. It’s written in C++ using
OpenCV
for image processing with
openFrameworks
as the application framework.
[via
NUI Group
] | 32 | 32 | [
{
"comment_id": "79412",
"author": "Tim",
"timestamp": "2009-06-27T01:01:39",
"content": "Meh.1. Surely it should be able to auto-calibrate?2. Not really ‘touch’ is it? It just tracks the coloured pucks.3. There’s a pre-written opencv function for tracking colour patches (check out ‘camshiftdemo’).L... | 1,760,377,635.06953 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/26/automated-paintball-sentry/ | Automated Paintball Sentry | Gerrit Coetzee | [
"Misc Hacks",
"Security Hacks"
] | [
"automated",
"image processing",
"microcontroller",
"paintball",
"pic",
"PIC24",
"sentry",
"sentry gun",
"video",
"webcam"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vYKwih8Izk]
Reader, [Ben Godding], sends in the video for his senior design team’s automated paintball sentry. The frame is made of plasma cut aluminum. The paintball gun uses a custom hopper mounted remotely from the gun body. It has two webcams offering a 160 degree field of vision, and the image processing is done by a dual core pentium CPU booting windows xp off a compact flash card. The computer interfaces with the 1/4scale RC servos using a PIC24. The paintball sentry can either be configured via a computer GUI when a monitor is available or a baclkit keypad and 4×20 charachter display in the field.
Related: [Jared Bouck]’s
paintball gun turret | 32 | 31 | [
{
"comment_id": "79392",
"author": "Jesse",
"timestamp": "2009-06-26T22:30:27",
"content": "Heh. That’s awesome.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "2545047",
"author": "Gavin Swaggs",
"timestamp": "2015-04-28T10:23:01",
"c... | 1,760,377,635.137918 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/26/carnivorous-robots/ | Carnivorous Robots | Caleb Kraft | [
"home hacks",
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"carnivore",
"decay",
"pest",
"trap"
] | Artists [James Auger] and [Jimmy Loizeau] have put out this display of
carnivorous robots
. Pictured above is a clock that is powered by a microbial fuel cell. The clock is equipped with a scroll of sticky paper for catching the flies which it then scrapes into it’s cell for digestion. The other pieces include a mouse eating coffee table, a strange mechanism for stealing spider’s meals, and a lamp shade inspired by
pitcher plants
. | 30 | 30 | [
{
"comment_id": "79375",
"author": "djrussell",
"timestamp": "2009-06-26T20:44:24",
"content": "win! those things are so fun! i need one to capture the stray cats in the neighborhood that crap in my back yard. maybe it can catch some of my neighbors while it’s at it.",
"parent_id": null,
"de... | 1,760,377,635.005403 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/26/parts-i2c-real-time-clock-calendar-pcf8563/ | Parts: I2C Real-time Clock Calendar (PCF8563) | Ian | [
"Misc Hacks",
"Parts"
] | [
"bus pirate",
"calendar",
"i2c",
"parts",
"pcf8563",
"real time clock",
"rtc",
"rtcc"
] | The
PCF8563
is a
real-time clock
/calendar/alarm chip with an
I2C interface
. This would be useful in projects where the primary microcontroller doesn’t have enough resources for an interrupt driven clock.
We demonstrate the PCF8563 using
the Bus Pirate
after the break. For a limited time you can
get your own Bus Pirate
, fully assembled and shipped worldwide, for only $30.
PCF8563
real-time clock calendar (
Octopart search
, $1.33).
Datasheet
(PDF).
The schematic above shows a bare-bones circuit for the PCF8563. It requires a simple external oscillator circuit with a
32.768khz watch crystal
(Q1). The oscillator input pin needs an external capacitor (C1, 12pF), but the oscillator output pin already has an internal capacitor. C2 is a 0.1uf decoupling capacitor for the power supply pin. The power supply can be 1.5 to 5.5volts.
The datasheet also recommends a diode on the voltage input. We didn’t use this in our test.
Bus Pirate
PCF8563 (pin #)
GND
GND (4)
MOSI
SDA (5)
CLK
SCL (6)
3.3volts or 5volts
V+ (8)
Vpullup
V+ (8)
We used our
Bus Pirate universal serial interface
to demonstrate this chip, but the transaction sequence will be the same for any microcontroller implementation. We connected the Bus Pirate to the PCF8563 as shown in the table above. We setup the Bus Pirate for I2C mode (M, 4) , and enabled the on-board power supply (capital ‘W’).
Don’t forget that you need
pull-up resistors
somewhere on the I2C bus. If you’re using a Bus Pirate, attach the Vpullup input to the circuit power supply then press p to configure the pullup resistors (or attach the pull-up jumpers for hardware v1a).
Interface
I2C>(1)
<–search I2C address macro
Searching 7bit I2C address space.
Found devices at:
0xA2 0xA3
I2C>
The PCF8563 I2C write address is 0xa2, and the read address is 0xa3. You can find this in the datasheet, or use the Bus Pirate search macro (1) to check all possible addresses.
Address |
Register name |
Bits
0x00
control_status_1
0x01
control_status_2
0x02
VL_seconds
(0:6)
0x03
minutes
(0:6)
0x04
hours
(0:5)
0x05
days
(0:5)
0x06
weekdays
(0:2)
0x07
months
(0:4)
0x08
years
(0:7)
(see datasheet page 6)
This RTC has 16 one-byte registers that configure the clock, and set/retrieve the time. Bytes 0-8, shown in the table above, contain status and time information. The upper 7 bytes configure an alarm, timers, and other advanced features. We’re just going to focus on the clock functions.
The registers are accessed just like an
I2C EEPROM
. Write values by sending the I2C write address (0xa2), the address to start writing (0-15), and the data bytes(s) to write.
Read values from the chip in two steps. First, use the write command to position the read pointer, but don’t send any data bytes. Second, use the read address (0xa3) to read bytes starting at the position set during the write command.
I2C>{
0xa2
2
0 30 12 31 1 5 9
}
I2C START CONDITION
WRITE: 162 GOT ACK: YES
<–I2C write address (0xa2=162)
WRITE: 2 GOT ACK: YES
<–register to begin writing
WRITE: 0 GOT ACK: YES
<–seconds (0)
WRITE: 30 GOT ACK: YES
<–minutes (30)
WRITE: 12 GOT ACK: YES
<–hours (12/noon)
WRITE: 31 GOT ACK: YES
<–day of the month (31)
WRITE: 1 GOT ACK: YES
<–day of the week (1/Sunday)
WRITE: 5 GOT ACK: YES
<–month (5/May)
WRITE: 9 GOT ACK: YES
<–year (09/2009)
I2C STOP CONDITION
I2C>
Set the time by writing to registers 0x02 to 0x08. The values are entered in binary coded decimal format, with all numerical date representations being fairly standard (see datasheet pages 6-9). We set the time to 12:30:00 May 31, 2009.
First, send an I2C start condition to tell the chip to listen for its address (Bus Pirate command {). Next, send the PFC8563 write address (
0xa2
), and set the write pointer to the seconds register (
2
). Finally, write 7 bytes of data to the time registers at addresses 2-8. End the transaction with an I2C stop condition (Bus Pirate command }).
I2C>{0xa2 2 { 0xa3 r:7}
I2C START CONDITION
WRITE: 162 GOT ACK: YES
<–send write address (0xa2=162)
WRITE: 2 GOT ACK: YES
<–set pointer to register 2, seconds
I2C START CONDITION
<–repeated start condition
WRITE: 163 GOT ACK: YES
<–send read address (0xa3=163)
BULK READ 7 BYTES:
<–read back 7 bytes
17 31 12 31 1 5 9
<–time: 12:31:17 Sunday, May 31, 2009
I2C STOP CONDITION
I2C>
We set the Bus Pirate’s output mode to decimal (menu ‘o’) before reading the time. This displays the values in the more familiar decimal format.
Retrieving the time takes two steps. First, a partial write transaction sets the memory location to read. Then, instead of sending any data, send a second start condition ({) and the PCF8563 I2C read address (0xa3) to put the chip in read mode. Finally, read 7 bytes (r:7) from registers 2 to 8. The output shows that a minute has passed since we set the time.
I2C>{0xa2 2 { 0xa3 r:7}
I2C START CONDITION
WRITE: 162 GOT ACK: YES
<–send write address (0xa2=162)
WRITE: 2 GOT ACK: YES
<–set pointer to register 2, seconds
I2C START CONDITION
<–repeated start condition
WRITE: 163 GOT ACK: YES
<–send read address (0xa3=163)
BULK READ 7 BYTES:
<–read back 7 bytes
34 32 12 31
33
37
9
<–day of week (33) and month (37) appear wrong
I2C STOP CONDITION
I2C>
Sometimes the chip appears to return garbage results. The above output is actually a valid time reading, even though it’s obviously not the 33rd day of the week or the 37th month of the year.
Each register has several ‘do not care’ bits (see datasheet page 6). In most devices ‘do not care’ bits are always set to 0, but the PCF8563 appears to use them in some time keeping capacity.
Day of week reads 33, or 0b00100001 in binary. If we ignore the upper 5 bits we get 0b001, or 1/Sunday, the proper day of the week. Similarly, ignore the upper three bits of month (37 = 0b00100101), giving 0b00101 or 5/May.
Like this post? Check out the
parts posts
you may have missed. Want to request a part post? Please leave your suggestions in the comments. | 8 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "79366",
"author": "joshw",
"timestamp": "2009-06-26T20:12:35",
"content": "I hope their is a example of using the bus pirate & SPI interface.This seems to be a better way to read and write to test to see if a circuit works than even a arduino…The ads1256 has some hard spi data sheet... | 1,760,377,635.194097 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/26/line-following-racers/ | Line Following Racers | Caleb Kraft | [
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"line following",
"racer",
"robot",
"sprinter"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfeHN37MH1U]
[Tim] sent in these
quick little line following bots
(
translated
). They were sent as participants in cosmobot, but due to an unfortunate dropbox mishap, they didn’t have updated firmware. They placed fifth and ninth place. As you can see in the video above, they are quite speedy. You can get the schematics and code on their
project page
(
translated
). They are hoping to make improvements to place better with the same bots next year. | 7 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "79341",
"author": "pitpawten",
"timestamp": "2009-06-26T18:27:24",
"content": "Is it just me or do they always seem to veer left at the end of the straight away. Maybe a subtle variation in line-width on the track?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
... | 1,760,377,635.238839 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/26/pneumatic-bed-alarm-clock/ | Pneumatic Bed Alarm Clock | Caleb Kraft | [
"home hacks"
] | [
"alarm clock",
"pneumatic"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQ-l5PlDa-k]
For four years, this guy has been using this
Pneumatic bed alarm clock
to wake up. Apparently “I’m a really heavy sleeper” is an understatement. It is computer controlled and runs from two seperate air sources. He entered it in a radio show contest and we’re guessing he won. You can see the test run at the radio station after the break. We really can understand the fun of building this. But actually using it for four years, without suffering any major injuries, is an accomplishment of it’s own.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qrhtm3m0KzI] | 50 | 50 | [
{
"comment_id": "79323",
"author": "Peter",
"timestamp": "2009-06-26T17:18:03",
"content": "I’m guessing this is the only way this guy gets his bed a rockin.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "79325",
"author": "Alexandre, o tabajara",
"tim... | 1,760,377,635.325256 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/26/home-made-solder-pot/ | Home Made Solder Pot | Steve Watkins | [
"home hacks",
"Misc Hacks",
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"desolder",
"diy",
"solder",
"soldering pot"
] | Our reader [Damir] built
a home made soldering pot
. It can be used to solder and desolder components. To remove a through hole component, the solder side is placed in the bath. Then the component is removed with pliers. It is also possible to solder components, by placing the leads in the molten solder; similar to wave soldering. Another common use is tinning self stripping wire. The insulation of the wire is designed to burn off, allowing the strip and tin phase to be single step. This solder pot would be a nice addition to
the hacker’s soldering station
we had covered in 2008. For more pictures, check out
the photo gallery
. In the video embedded below, a transformer is easily removed from a modem.
[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-291669304260217694&hl=en] | 29 | 27 | [
{
"comment_id": "79308",
"author": "toma",
"timestamp": "2009-06-26T15:37:55",
"content": "As shown, DANGEROUS!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "2403669",
"author": "Vinny",
"timestamp": "2015-02-02T19:36:53",
"content":... | 1,760,377,635.393483 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/25/bus-pirate-preorders-open/ | Bus Pirate Preorders Open | Eliot | [
"hardware",
"News",
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"bus pirate",
"preorder",
"seeed studio",
"serial",
"tool"
] | Update, Saturday July 4th, 2009:
All preorders are closed.
We’re excited to announce our partnership with the folks at Seeed Studio (home of the excellent
Seeeduino
) to put the Bus Pirate v2go into production! The preorder period ends July 3rd. The price is $30 including worldwide shipping. The board pictured above is a hand soldered prototype, but the ones sold by Seeed are completely factory assembled.
This is the first officially produced piece of Hack a Day hardware. Depending on its success, we’ll be able to put many future designs into production. Read more about the
Bus Pirate in our latest How-to
. Thank you for your support!
***Update, Monday June 29, 2009
: Wow, your support has been overwhelming! Thank you! There have been more orders for the Bus Pirate than we ever imagined. As of this update, there’s a few (12) Bus Pirates left in the Seeed preorder. After that, we’ve exhausted the supply of PIC24FJ64GA002s available in Shenzhen. If you’ve already placed your order nothing changes, the manufacturing process has already begun and your Bus Pirate will ship ASAP.
After the first preorder is filled, Seeed will start a new preorder. The second preorder will be delayed until more PIC24FJ64GA002s are delivered, about 4 to 6 weeks. This order should ship about 6 to 8 weeks after July 3, 2009, but we’ll try our best to get it out sooner. Thank you again for your support! | 45 | 45 | [
{
"comment_id": "79235",
"author": "byohazrd",
"timestamp": "2009-06-26T01:38:31",
"content": "Noted and purchased. Now for the unpleasant part… waiting.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "79246",
"author": "digidev",
"timestamp": "2009-06-... | 1,760,377,635.475822 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/25/how-to-the-bus-pirate-v2-with-usb/ | How-to: The Bus Pirate V2 With USB | Ian | [
"Featured",
"hardware",
"how-to",
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"1-wire",
"bus pirate",
"i2c",
"jtag",
"midi",
"pc keyboard",
"spi",
"the bus pirate",
"uart",
"universal serial interface"
] | Update, Saturday July 4th, 2009:
All preorders are closed.
The
Bus Pirate
is a universal serial interface tool, we use it to
test new chips
without writing any code. It currently supports most serial protocols, including 1-Wire, I2C, SPI, JTAG, asynchronous serial, MIDI, and more. We added some other features we frequently need, like pulse-width modulation, frequency measurement, voltage measurement, bus sniffers, pull-up resistors, and switchable 3.3volt and 5volt power supplies.
The new v2 family adds USB power and connectivity to the best Bus Pirate design yet. We also reduced the part count and cost wherever possible. If you want to get your hands on some Bus Pirate USB goodness, Seeed Studio has assembled hardware for $30 (including worldwide shipping).
Read about the new design after the break.
Concept overview
The Bus Pirate connects to a PC USB port. The user send commands to the Bus Pirate from a serial terminal on the PC. Commands are translated to the bus protocols that control microchips. See our
Bus Pirate page
for full documentation.
The latest firmware supports 1-Wire, I2C, SPI, JTAG, asynchronous serial, MIDI, and PC keyboards. Bit-wise 2- and 3-wire libraries can interface most proprietary serial protocols. More protocols are being added all the time, check out the source code on our
Google Code SVN page
.
Hardware
Click for a large image of the schematic
(PNG). The schematic and board layout were made with the freeware version of
Cadsoft Eagle
. Download the latest files from our
Google Code
page.
PIC24F
A Microchip
PIC24F series
microcontroller generates the user interface and translates input into bus communications. V2 uses the same
24FJ64GA002
as the previous Bus Pirate versions. It’s cheap, has a ton of memory, a couple 5volt tolerant input pins, and the peripheral pin select feature lets us assign hardware modules anywhere we want.
The PIC (IC1) is powered by a 3.3volt regulator (VR2, C23). Each PIC power pin gets a 0.1uF bypass capacitor (C1,2). The internal 2.5volt regulator requires a 10uF tantalum capacitor (C20). The programming pins are brought to a five pin header (ICSP) on the edge of the PCB.
USB interface
The Bus Pirate is powered from the USB 5volt supply, which is first filtered with a ferrite bead (L1) and 10uF tantalum capacitor (C21). We used the small, still-not-quite-common,
USB mini-b
connector (J2).
Choosing a ferrite bead is a common hangup. Its purpose is to filter small power fluctuations, all the current for the circuit will go through it. We can guestimate that the Bus Pirate’s worst case current consumption is 525ma (3 power supplies @ 150ma, the FTDI chip @ 25ma, 2 LEDs @ 50ma max). Use a ferrite bead rated for at least 1000ma to be safe. We used
this one
, which is rated for 1500ma and costs 10 cents.
An FTDI
FT232BL
USB->serial chip (IC2) handles the USB connection. You might be familiar with this chip from various
Arduino
boards. FTDI has
extensive driver support
for most platforms, we used the virtual com port drivers. This is the latest generation chip, and it’s only available in small SSOP and QFN packages. We had no problem hand-soldering it to a professional PCB, but it’s not for everyone.
The FT232BL is powered directly from the filtered, unregulated USB supply. C4 is a decoupling capacitor for the FTDI232BL supply pin. A single LED (LED4/USB) indicates USB status and activity. The FT232BL RXLED pin sinks current, so we powered the LED from the 5volt USB supply through a 1.1K resistor (R3).
While the FT232BL runs at 5volts from the USB supply, its serial IO pins have an independent supply input – they can operate at another voltage. Since the microcontroller is 3.3volts, we just feed the FT232BL IO pins a 3.3volt supply and eliminate any funky translation circuitry. We used the chip’s internal 3.3volt regulator to supply the IO pins because it was the easiest trace to route. The IO pins get their own 0.1uF bypass capacitor (C5).
Switchable power supplies
The Bus Pirate has on-board 3.3volt and 5volt supplies (VR3, VR4) that can power a test circuit. The supplies are switchable, so we can reset the circuit from software when something goes wrong. To be extra safe, the supplies are held off until activated in the terminal.
[
Nathan Seidle
] at
SparkFun
recommended that we replace the
TPS796xx
($2.50) we used in
The Bus Pirate v1a
with a
MIC5205-xxYM5
($0.90). They supply just 150ma maximum current, compared to 800ma from the TPS796xx, but the cost savings and reduced part-count are worth it.
The regulators are fed from the 5volt USB supply. The 5volt regulator drops a few millivolts below optimal because there’s no headroom, but it’s within the minimum level specified by most 5volt parts.
The MIC5205 requires a large output filter capacitor (C22-24, 10uF), but no input capacitor. An optional small-value capacitor on the BP pin can decrease power supply noise, but we left this off because it didn’t make much difference in practice.
A small voltage on the
EN
pin enables the supply, we used a 10K pull-down resistor (R18, not shown) to ensure that the supplies stay off while the PIC initializes. LED3/VREG, with current limiting resistor R32, lights when the power supplies are active.
On-board pull-up resistors
Bus Pirate V2 has multi-voltage, software controlled pull-up resistors via the
4066
(PDF) quad bilateral switch (IC3). When enabled, the 4066 connects the four on-board bus pull-up resistors (R20-23, 10K) to any external signal on the Vpullup pin (0 to 5volts). When disabled, the outputs are high-impedance and have no effect on the bus lines.
The 4066 can’t switch an input voltage greater than the supply voltage. To give it the widest possible range, we powered it from the USB supply (5volts).
When operated at 5volts, it takes 4volts+ to enable the 4066. The PIC pins have a maximum output of 3.3volts, so we have a problem. We solve it with a 5volt tolerant PIC pin and a pull-up resistor. We turn on the 4066 with a pull-up resistor to 5volts (R19, 10K), and then disable it by switching the connected PIC pin to ground.
For a brief instant at power-on, the PIC pin is high-impedance and the 4066 outputs are active because the pull-up resistor holds the control pins at 5volts. This is a concern if the Vpullup input is connected to an external 5volt supply while the bus is connected to a 3.3volt device – the brief exposure to 5volts might harm the device. If you’re worried about this, make sure there’s no active power supply connected to the Vpullup input before powering the Bus Pirate. This isn’t a concern if you use one of the on-board power supplies for the pull-up voltage because they’re disabled at startup.
Voltage monitoring
Four
voltage dividers
(R10-17, 10K), attached to
analog to digital converters
, allow the 3.3volt PIC to safely measure up to 6volts DC.
Two voltage monitors measure the switchable power supply output. One measures the Vpullup input voltage, and another connects to the external voltage measurement probe.
Indicator LEDs
Three LEDs indicate power, mode, and voltage regulator status (LED1-3). LED4/USB displays USB activity.
There are pads for resistors R30-32 and LEDs 1-3 on the front and back of the PCB. Only one set should be populated. We put pads on both sides so the board could be mounted with the indicator LEDs abutting the top of an enclosure.
V2a vs V2go
Click for large
schematic
(PNG) and
layout
(PNG) images of the version 2a hardware. The Eagle layout files are available in our
Google Code SVN
.
Bus Pirate V2a is a developer’s board. In addition to all the features of V2go, it includes a jack (J1) for an external power supply and an additional 5volt regulator (VR1). A switch (S1) selects between USB power and the external supply.
The FT232BL chip on V2a is powered directly from the USB supply, and is not connected to the external supply. This is useful if you want to disable USB and use the Bus Pirate with a serial port on a PC or PDA.
The V2a 4066 enable pull-up resistor is powered by the switchable 5volt regulator. The 5volt regulator must be enabled for the 4066 to be active. Don’t forget to install the 4066 pull-up resistor (R19), located on the back of the v2a PCB.
PCB
The PCB is a compact, 2-layer design. We
prepared gerbers
and had PCBs made by our usual service,
BatchPCB
($21, shipped to EU), and tried a new service offered by
Seeed Studio
($32, shipped worldwide).
Seeed has a PCB service specifically for open source hardware projects. For $32 (including worldwide shipping) we got 5 small PCBs, and Seeed made a few extra to sell in their shop. We liked the idea that there would be extra PCBs available.
You might know Seeed Studio from their cheap, improved
Seeeduino
Arduino clone. They’re located in Shenzhen, a Chinese electronics manufacturing hot-spot. A bunch of notable bloggers recently
visited the region
and wrote about the
huge electronic component markets
.
The Seed order arrived in 14 days (left), the BatchPCB order arrived in 30 days (right). Seeed and BatchPCB both make beautiful PCBs. Seeed has a much faster turn-around, and has better minimum trace widths and separation (8mil vs 6mil). BatchPCB has standard green PCBs, Seeed gives you the choice of green, black, or white; red, blue and yellow are $7.50 extra.
We really like the Seeed PCB service, extra Bus Pirate
v2go
and
v2a
PCBs from our order are available in the Seeed shop. BatchPCB remains the cheapest prototyping option if you want a single board, closed source work, or don’t mind the extra wait.
Parts list
Part
Value (package)
IC1
PIC24J64GA002
(SOIC)
IC2
FT232RL
(SSOP)
IC3
CD4066D
(SOIC-N)
VR2,3
MIC5205-3.3YM5 3.3volt regulator
(SOT23-5)
VR4
MIC5205-5.0YM5 5volt regulator
(SOT23-5)
C1-5
0.1uF capacitor
(0805)
C20-24
10uF tantalum capacitor
(SMC-A)
L1
1000ma+ Ferrite bead
(0805)
R1
2000 ohm resistor
(0805)
R3,30
1100 ohm resistor
(0805)
R10-23
10,000 ohm resistor
(0805)
R31,32
390 ohm resistor
(0805)
LED1-4
LED
(0805)
J2
USB MINI-B
(SMD)
I/O
0.1″ pin header
(2×05)
ICSP
0.1″ pin header
(1×05)
ST
0.1″ pin header
(1×03)
*unpopulated, optional*
Optional
Parts for V2a
C6-10
0.1uF capacitor
(0805)
J1
2.1mm power jack
(SMD)
LED5,6
LED
(0805)
R33,34,40
1100 ohm resistor
(0805)
S1
Slide switch, SPDT, rt angle
VR1
LD1117s50 5volt regulator
(SOT223)
Firmware
The latest Bus Pirate firmware for all hardware version is always available on our
Google Code page
. The code is written in C, and is compiled with the
Microchip C30 demonstration compiler
.
Bootloader
The biggest change in the latest firmware is the addition of a
bootloader
. Now the firmware can be updated through the USB or serial connection.
A bootloader is small program that sits at the beginning of the PIC program memory. It accepts updated firmware through the USB or serial port and saves it to the chip.
The bootloader comes from Microchip application note
AN1157
. We modified the bootloader to check for a jumper between the programming clock (PGC) and data (PGD) pins at power-up (update, above left). If there’s a connection, the bootloader takes over and waits for new code. Without a connection, the bootloader exits and runs the main program.
There’s a very minor chance of accidentally entering the bootloader with no jumper installed. This won’t damage the Bus Pirate, but you will need to connect it again. You can prevent it by moving the jumper over one position, between the ground pin and the inner programming pin (normal, above right).
Upgrading the firmware with the bootloader
If you’re using a fresh chip, first program it with the bootloader firmware (vxx-PIC Bootloader.hex) through the ICSP header using a ‘real’ programmer like an
ICD2
or
PicKit
.
If you’re upgrading, follow this procedure or refer to the instructions in the firmware download.
Disconnect the Bus Pirate from any power supply such as the USB cable.
Place a jumper between the programming data and clock pins of the ICSP header. This will trigger the bootloader mode.
Connect the Bus Pirate to a USB port (or, if applicable, power and serial cable).
Start the MS Windows P24QP.exe programmer utility. You may need to modify the COM port (portindex=) in P24qp.ini to match your system. Programmer source is available, and the simple bootloader protocol is documented in AN1157 if you want to write an app for a non-Windows system.
Click the connect to device icon (#1). The program will connect to the PIC.
Click the folder icon (#2) and open the firmware update file (vxx-Firmware for BL.hex).
Click the erase device icon (#3) to erase the chip. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP. Programming may not be successful if you forget to erase the chip.
Click the write device icon (#4) to program the new firmware. Ignore any verify errors between 0x400 and 0xBFF, the bootloader lives in this region and doesn’t get updated.
Click the green arrow icon (#5) to exit the bootloader and start the program. Click OK at the warning, we use the jumper to re-enter the bootloader.
Remove the jumper from the programming pins, or move it over one position to connect the inner PGx pin to ground (GND).
***IMPORTANT*** Now restart the Bus Pirate by disconnecting and reconnecting the USB cable (or power cable). Some features won’t work until after a complete hardware reset.
Using it
USB device driver
You may need to install an
FTDI virtual serial port driver
for your platform.
On Windows, go to the Device Manager to configure the FTDI driver or check the COM port number.
Menus and Syntax
Use a serial terminal to communicate with the Bus Pirate. We like
Tera Term
.
The Bus Pirate works best with the terminal set to 115200bps, 8 databits, no parity, 1stopbit. Disable local echo in the terminal, and use CR for line breaks. Some modes also require Xon/Xoff software flow control.
In the serial terminal, press ? for the help menu. Read more about the Bus Pirate’s menu and syntax on the
Bus Pirate page
. There’s lots of demonstrations in our recent
parts posts
.
LED indicators
PWR
indicates power to the Bus Pirate.
MODE
is off when the I/O pins are in a safe, high-impedance state. MODE is lit when a bus mode is engaged, the pins may be active.
VREG
indicates that the on-board switchable power supplies are active.
UR
is a single USB activity indicator LED. It displays data coming
from
the PC
to
the Bus Pirate. You can probably change what this LED displays with the
FTDI configuration utility
.
Connections
Pin location diagrams:
v2a
,
v2g0
.
Pin name |
Description (Bus Pirate is the master)
MOSI
Master data out, slave in (SPI, JTAG), Serial data (1-Wire, I2C, KB), TX* (UART)
CLK
Clock signal (I2C, SPI, JTAG, KB)
MISO
Master data in, slave out (SPI, JTAG) RX (UART)
CS*
Chip select (SPI), TMS (JTAG)
AUX
Auxiliary IO, frequency probe
ADC
Voltage measurement probe (max 6volts)
Vpu
Voltage input for on-board pull-up resistors (0-5volts).
+3.3v
+3.3volt switchable power supply, max 150ma
+5.0v
+5volt switchable power supply, max 150ma
GND
Ground, connect to ground of test circuit
Notes: * TX moved from CS to MOSI in firmware v0g.
The 10 pin I/O block contains the data signals and power supplies that connect to a test circuit. Each pin is labeled on the back of the PCB, refer to the table above for a detailed description.
The pinout on V2 is similar to V1, but we moved the power supply output and Vpullup input to the cable bundle. We also eliminated the second, unused auxiliary pin.
Conclusion
If you want a complete Bus Pirate or a kit, here’s a couple options:
Seeed Studio is accepting pre-orders for assembled Bus Pirate v2go hardware until the end of Friday, July 3. An assembled Bus Pirate v2go is $30, including worldwide shipping.
Seeed Studio also has the extra
v2g0
($5.90) and
v2a
($6.50) PCBs from our order.
Fundamental Logic sells a
through-hole kit
version of the Bus Pirate V1a ($29.50).
***v1a is serial port only***
Thanks to everyone who contributed to this project. The Bus Pirate wouldn’t be possible without a ton of great feedback from the comments. If you’d like to get involved, join the
Bus Pirate project
at Google Code.
Hack a Day review disclosure
: We asked Seeed Studio to make our first order of PCBs for free. Since then, we’ve made several paid orders. | 32 | 32 | [
{
"comment_id": "79225",
"author": "war6763",
"timestamp": "2009-06-26T00:32:11",
"content": "Excellent work. It’s saved my butt a couple times already…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "79229",
"author": "busp",
"timestamp": "2009-06-26T0... | 1,760,377,635.559547 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/25/64-synchronizing-fireflies/ | 64 Synchronizing Fireflies | Zach Banks | [
"LED Hacks",
"News"
] | [
"attiny13",
"AVR",
"fireflies",
"firefly",
"kit",
"microcontroller",
"phototransistor",
"rgb",
"RGB LED",
"synchronized",
"tinkerlog",
"video"
] | [Alex] of tinkerlog created a set of
64 RGB fireflies
that synchronize to blink all at once. We
covered the kit earlier
, but he has assembled a set of 64. Each firefly is independently controlled by an ATtiny13 that reads a phototransistor and lights up an RGB LED. The fireflies are programmed to blink a certain rate, but
blink faster if they detect other blinks
. After a few cycles, the fireflies begin to blink in unison. When the fireflies are arranged in different configurations, different patterns emerge. He is
selling kits
and has
instructions for building your own
. Videos of the fireflies after the jump.
[vimeo
http://vimeo.com/5318234%5D
[vimeo
http://vimeo.com/5318548%5D
Related:
Jar of fireflies | 14 | 13 | [
{
"comment_id": "79207",
"author": "faviomj",
"timestamp": "2009-06-25T23:15:51",
"content": "Pretty nice",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "79209",
"author": "animefruit",
"timestamp": "2009-06-25T23:46:27",
"content": "this is off top... | 1,760,377,637.536992 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/25/blu-ray-laser-keychain/ | Blu-Ray Laser Keychain | Zach Banks | [
"Laser Hacks",
"News"
] | [
"blu-ray",
"bluray",
"electronics",
"keychain",
"laser"
] | [Jay] hacked a
Blu-Ray laser diode into a keychain enclosure
. He found a heavy brass keychain light from Lowe’s and stuffed the diode and a larger battery inside. The existing batteries weren’t powerful enough, so he drilled out the endcap to fit a 200mAh 3.6v lithium battery inside. He also modded the power button to only momentarily turn on the diode. With the larger battery, the laser can run for about an hour between charges. In addition to a Blu-Ray lasers, he also has versions with a 200mW red diode.
Related:
Laser projector zippo | 56 | 50 | [
{
"comment_id": "79183",
"author": "brian redbeard",
"timestamp": "2009-06-25T20:16:26",
"content": "rather amazing.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "79185",
"author": "Jack",
"timestamp": "2009-06-25T20:26:04",
"content": "@alaysiasT... | 1,760,377,637.623933 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/25/keychain-gps-finder/ | Keychain GPS Finder | Steve Watkins | [
"gps hacks",
"home hacks",
"Wearable Hacks"
] | [
"atmega",
"AVR",
"electronics",
"gps",
"keychain",
"led",
"microcontroller",
"navigation"
] | With a user interface consisting of two buttons and a three digit display,
the GPS finder guides the user
back to a saved location. Nine locations can be saved for navigation recall. Press a button to save location and press another button to recall. Each switch has a secondary function, for management purposes such as memory indexes and power features. An
AarLogic GPS 3A module
and AVR microcontroller make up the guts. With the
popularity of Geocaching
, this would make an impressive trinket; Leading the hunter to an undocumented treasure. | 7 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "79179",
"author": "Addictronics",
"timestamp": "2009-06-25T19:34:13",
"content": "“now where did i leave my gps finder….”interesting project and concept. I would have gone rfid myself for things around the house.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
... | 1,760,377,637.33894 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/25/bus-pirate-firmware-update-v0g/ | Bus Pirate Firmware Update V0g | Ian | [
"hardware",
"News",
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"bus pirate",
"firmware",
"open source",
"software",
"software updates",
"updates"
] | Firmware v0g
for all
Bus Pirate
revisions is now available. Updates in this release include a bootloader, frequency generator/pulse-width modulator, SPI bus sniffer, MIDI library, configuration reports, improved user interface, and bug fixes. v0g is also the first firmware to fully support the v2 hardware branch.
We’re really proud of this release as it brings a much more consistent structure to the internal operation of the Bus Pirate. It lays the foundation for future CAN, LIN, and OBDII libraries, and it supports localization and translations. Install and upgrade instructions are included with the firmware. Report bugs on the project
issue tracker
.
We document the new features after the break.
Bootloader
Firmware v0g includes a
bootloader
. After the bootloader is installed, firmware updates can be done over the serial or USB connection, instead of using a proper ICSP programmer.
Install and update instructions
are included in the firmware archive.
Frequency generator/pulse-width modulator
1-WIRE>g
<–frequency generator/PWM setup command
1KHz-4,000KHz frequency generator/PWM (beta)
FREQUENCY in KHz (50) >50
<–enter frequency in KHz
PRESCALE:8
<–calculated prescaler
PR2:39
<–calculated PR2 value
DUTY CYCLE in % (50) >50
<–enter percent duty cycle
PWM ACTIVE
1-WIRE>f
<–frequency measurement command
PWM ACTIVE: DISABLE PWM
<–not available when PWM is active
1-WIRE>g
<–g again to disable PWM
PWM DISABLED
1-WIRE>
A 1Hz-4MHz
frequency generator
/pulse-width modulator function is available on the auxiliary pin using menu option ‘g’. This feature is still in development, but v0g has the essential functionality. The frequency generator and frequency measurement features can not be used at the same time. We also squashed a small bug in the
frequency measurement
code for hardware v1+.
SPI bus sniffer
SPI>(1)
<–sniffer macro
Sniff when:
1. CS low
2. CS high
3. All traffic
(1) >3
<–when to sniff bus
SPI BUS SNIFFER, PRESS ANY KEY TO EXIT
0x10(0x00) 0xC6(0x00)
<–displays data as MOSI(MISO)
SPI>
The PIC24F’s SPI slave mode made it easy to add an
SPI bus sniffer
. It works fine on slow or intermittent data transmissions, but it needs additional output buffering for better performance at high speeds. For the best performance, change the Bus Pirate display mode to ‘raw output’.
MIDI library
MIDI, a popular interface for musical instruments, is simply a 33.2K baud/8/N/1 UART. The
MIDI
library has the same functions as the asynchronous serial port library, with the settings fixed for MIDI communications. MIDI devices require an isolated transceiver, we’re
working on one
but need a
MIDI connector footprint and part number
.
Bus Pirate status report
RAW3WIRE>i
<– status report command
Hack a Day Bus Pirate v2g0
http://www.buspirate.com
Firmware v0g
*———-*
POWER SUPPLIES ON
VOLTAGE MONITOR: 5V: 5.0 | 3.3V: 3.3 | VPULLUP: 5.0 |
AUX: DEFAULT SETTING (AUX PIN)
High-Z outputs (H=input, L=GND)
PULLUP RESISTORS OFF
MSB SET: MOST SIG BIT FIRST
*———-*
RAW3WIRE>
A new
in-terminal status report
lists the features available in the active protocol library, and the current settings.
User prompts with defaults
HiZ>m
1. HiZ
2. 1-WIRE
3. UART
4. I2C
5. SPI
6. JTAG
7. RAW2WIRE
8. RAW3WIRE
9. PC KEYBOARD
10. MIDI
(1) >
<–press enter for default option (1/HiZ)
MODE SET
HiZ>
The
user prompt
has been updated to accept multiple-digit values. Enter without any input selects the default value shown in parentheses before the prompt. All user input is now handled by this single user prompt function.
User value input format
SPI>r:0x02
<–repeat in hex format
BULK READ 0x02 BYTES:
0x00 0x00
SPI>(0b0)
<–macro command in binary format
0.Macro menu
1.SPI bus sniffer
SPI>
All user prompts now
support input values
in binary, hexadecimal, or decimal. Previously, menu and macro prompts only supported decimal formatted input.
Localization, translations
A lot of the text used in the program has been moved to a
translation file
, which is defined in
base.h
.
If you make a translation, please share it with us. We’ll host the translation in SVN and compile a localized firmware for anyone that might be interested.
Test the v0h beta
If you like to live on the edge, try the
v0h nightlies
. These features are already implemented in v0h nightlies:
I2C sniffer
,
HD44780 character LCD
test library
.
Keyboard library I/O timeout
.
Improved
syntax parser
.
Software
reset command
.
Check the
issue tracker
for future features, or to make feature requests. | 10 | 10 | [
{
"comment_id": "79176",
"author": "keystoneclimber",
"timestamp": "2009-06-25T19:13:04",
"content": "How about an update on the hardware side of things?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "79178",
"author": "clint",
"timestamp": "2009-06-25... | 1,760,377,637.486913 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/25/wide-angle-lense-mod-for-the-atc2k/ | Wide Angle Lense Mod For The ATC2K | Caleb Kraft | [
"digital cameras hacks",
"Video Hacks",
"Wearable Hacks"
] | [
"camera",
"lens",
"submarine"
] | For those that have them, the ATC2K action camera is a decent little piece of equipment. It is waterproof and can save video for roughly 30 minutes on a flash card. The viewing angle of the lens leaves something to be desired though. This has been remedied in newer models. [raalst] shows us how to
modify the ATC2K to install a new, wider angle lens
, while retaining the waterproof seal. He also takes us through a necessary mod to ensure clear video under water since the new lens was not initially intended for it. Just in case you are curious, he’s using his for
hobby radio controlled submarine
dives. | 6 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "79157",
"author": "Jo",
"timestamp": "2009-06-25T16:59:41",
"content": "Hi, the “hobby radio controlled submarine” link is wrong, there’s a ‘t’ missing, should behttp://www.subcommittee.com/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "79163... | 1,760,377,637.43118 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/25/econo-monome/ | Econo Monome | Caleb Kraft | [
"digital audio hacks",
"Peripherals Hacks"
] | [
"green",
"monome",
"recycled"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mKjRakndSk]
[Mike] really liked the thought of the Monome, especially the green aspect of their construction. He felt he could take it a step further. After 40 years of electronics tinkering, he had quite a spare parts box.
He constructed his monome clone from stuff he just had laying around
. All of his pieces were either rejected samples from his company or outdated parts destined for the trash bin. Great job [Mike]. If you are planning to build one and don’t have the buttons laying around, you can get a more typical monome look and feel by going with the sparkfun RGB pads, like
we did
back in March.
[via
Makezine
] | 2 | 2 | [
{
"comment_id": "79146",
"author": "Arthur Grumbine",
"timestamp": "2009-06-25T15:24:21",
"content": "Very slick build. Major props for that. The ‘music’ could use some work, though. :-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "79215",
"author": "tim... | 1,760,377,637.802991 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/24/hackit-boxee-now-on-windows/ | Hackit: Boxee Now On Windows | Eliot | [
"HackIt",
"home entertainment hacks"
] | [
"alpha",
"apple tv",
"boxee",
"ces",
"HackIt",
"media center",
"mythtv",
"plex",
"xbmc",
"xbox"
] | Boxee
, the free media center management and streaming application, is now
available for Windows platforms
. We’ve been following the developments of Boxee since we first
announced its alpha
this time last year. At that time, it was only available for OSX with promised Ubuntu support. We were a bit skeptical about the interface noting, “Unfortunately all the dynamic resizing, animated, sliding, floating info boxes make it behave like the zooming user interface’s retarded cousin”. Our interest in Boxee was almost entirely based on it being a fork of XBMC, the media center project developed for initially for hacked Xboxes. It was interesting to see Boxee become the interface of choice for hacked Apple TVs and then go mainstream with a big push at CES.
Have you been using Boxee as your media center? What do you love/hate? What about alternatives like
XBMC
,
Plex
, or
MythTV
? | 27 | 27 | [
{
"comment_id": "79077",
"author": "kt",
"timestamp": "2009-06-25T00:29:50",
"content": "boxee is great for web media and organizing your local media, i really love it. however, until there is integrated dvr and live tv as part of its core, i will still have to rely on vista media center for daily u... | 1,760,377,637.765024 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/24/evic-engine/ | EVIC Engine | Steve Watkins | [
"Misc Hacks",
"Transportation Hacks"
] | [
"combustion engine",
"computer controlled engine",
"controller",
"electronic valve",
"electronics",
"engine",
"EVIC",
"microcontroller",
"youtube"
] | The EVIC is a
computer controlled internal combustion engine
, utilizing a cam less solenoid actuated valve system. In addition to intake and exhaust valve control, the processor also handles ignition timing. With dynamic valve timing, it is possible to make an engine more efficient. Where a classic combustion engine would wastefully burn fuel, the EVIC can skip power cycles which are not needed. By increasing the valve duration, the CPU enables easy starting. The
latest is the EVIC Mk3
which adds an exhaust valve sensor, and 3:1 solenoid leverage. There is a photo gallery with several
EVIC engines
. The Mk2 Twin is demonstrated in the video embedded below.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGnT58gRAz8] | 45 | 42 | [
{
"comment_id": "79064",
"author": "Colin",
"timestamp": "2009-06-24T22:25:35",
"content": "Impressive.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "79066",
"author": "Addictronics",
"timestamp": "2009-06-24T22:39:56",
"content": "can’t wait till... | 1,760,377,637.708504 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/24/wireless-arduino-cat-food-dispenser/ | Wireless Arduino Cat Food Dispenser | Gerrit Coetzee | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"home hacks",
"Wireless Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"cat",
"dispenser",
"diy",
"duemilanove",
"food",
"laser",
"microcontroller",
"wireless",
"xbee"
] | Reader, [Andres Leon], has two adorable cats with very specific dietary needs. Instead of altering his schedule, he donned his hacking hat and
designed a very solid cat food dispenser
. The dispenser consists of a rotating drum with a slot in it and a PVC pipe Y-fitting to distribute the food evenly. The brains of the machine is an Arduino Deumillanove and an XBee module. The unit can be controlled by a web interface or it can run completely standalone. [Andres] ran into a problem where the drum’s resistance to turning varied based on how much food was inside. He solved this with a clever laser position indicator. A piece of plywood is lined up with the slot at the top so that whenever the slot is facing up it keeps the laser from shining on a photoresistor. The cats were afraid of the servo noise at first, but now they run to their bowls whenever they hear it. | 14 | 14 | [
{
"comment_id": "79056",
"author": "Andar_b",
"timestamp": "2009-06-24T21:00:31",
"content": "My buddy taped a fishfood container to a vibrator and plugged the whole thing in to an AC timer circuit, in elementary school. That was cool.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},... | 1,760,377,637.38733 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/24/magic-lantern-for-canon-5d/ | Magic Lantern For Canon 5D | Caleb Kraft | [
"digital cameras hacks"
] | [
"canon",
"chdk",
"dslr",
"magic lantern",
"photography"
] | [vimeo
http://vimeo.com/5267475%5D
[Trammell] has released a
new firmware for the Canon 5D Mark II DSLR
geared toward film makers. The stock firmware was very limited on the audio side. This firmware adds features such as live VU meters, reduced audio noise, and crop marks for filming in different formats. The firmware is written in a manner that it can be extended fairly easily. Hopefully this will turn out to be as helpful as
CHDK
has been for point and shoot cameras. | 10 | 10 | [
{
"comment_id": "79014",
"author": "M4CGYV3R",
"timestamp": "2009-06-24T15:22:19",
"content": "“If it breaks your camera, you get to keep both pieces…”Yeah, now I’m not gonna use it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "79019",
"author": "yb 9002... | 1,760,377,637.842403 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/24/lexlrie/ | Lexlrie | Caleb Kraft | [
"Arduino Hacks"
] | [
"emotion",
"twitter"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbIzhlZHJfk]
Lexlrie is basically a feed display
. It can connect to twitter, facebook and we feel fine for its updates. What makes this project different is that it is supposed to alter its lighting based on the mood of the updates. The system looks for words like “better” and “sorry” and displays color patterns based on those. We have no idea what “better” should look like, but it’s a cool idea. You can get more
details of its construction here
. This project vaguely reminds of
Pulse
, which intended to show the emotion of blogger.com updates. | 11 | 11 | [
{
"comment_id": "79015",
"author": "Laminar",
"timestamp": "2009-06-24T15:57:35",
"content": "Three apostrophe errors.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "79024",
"author": "McSquid",
"timestamp": "2009-06-24T17:07:26",
"content": "@lami... | 1,760,377,638.088363 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/23/the-holy-toaster-kit/ | The Holy Toaster Kit | Steve Watkins | [
"home hacks",
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"diy",
"jesus",
"open source kit",
"toast",
"toaster",
"toaster mods"
] | The holy toaster
is an open source kit to put Jesus on your toast, complete with cost breakdown and engineering data files. A laser machined stainless steel Jesus blocks a pattern of radiation from browning the toast. Installation is quite simple. Use a pair of pliers to bend a few tabs for support, and then insert the pattern in the toaster. Browning adjustments may be required to obtain adequate contrast. Best results appear to come from Honey Bran Country Bread. Their Flickr page contains
more photos and a video of the prototype
being cut. Let everyone know about your divine toast with the
twittering toaster
we had covered in 2008. Below is the instructional video.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SQGMTnnUnM] | 39 | 39 | [
{
"comment_id": "78924",
"author": "raged",
"timestamp": "2009-06-23T21:22:43",
"content": "That’s great!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "78927",
"author": "Billy",
"timestamp": "2009-06-23T21:36:53",
"content": "THIS BELONGS ON THIN... | 1,760,377,638.044016 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/23/iphone-3g-ultrasn0w-unlock-released/ | IPhone 3G Ultrasn0w Unlock Released | Eliot | [
"Cellphone Hacks",
"iphone hacks",
"Mac Hacks"
] | [
"apple",
"cydia",
"firmeware",
"iphone",
"iphone 3G",
"iphone dev team",
"iphone-dev",
"sim",
"t-mobile",
"ultrasn0w"
] | The iPhone dev-team has
released Ultrasn0w
to SIM unlock the iPhone 3G running the 3.0 firmware. It’s available via Cydia, which installs when you use the
recently released PwnageTool
to unlock the 3.0 firmware. There doesn’t seem to be any caveats besides advising T-Mobile US users to turn off 3G before install. | 11 | 11 | [
{
"comment_id": "78916",
"author": "Akoi Meexx",
"timestamp": "2009-06-23T19:42:20",
"content": "You know, if I ever get bluetooth mic support in my iPod Touch, then I might be inclined to jailbreak. :P",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "79000",
... | 1,760,377,637.932792 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/23/wii-motionplus-arduino/ | Wii MotionPlus + Arduino | Zach Banks | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"Nintendo Hacks",
"Nintendo Wii Hacks"
] | [
"gyro",
"IMU",
"nunchuck",
"wii",
"wii motion plus",
"wii nunchuck",
"wiimote"
] | [knuckles904] was able to use the new
Wii MotionPlus
with an Arduino. Nintendo has released the WM+ in order to detect the motion of the controller better. The Wiimote only detects acceleration, whereas the WM+ detects rotation along 3 axes. The Arduino communicates with it over I2C, the same protocol that is used with the Nunchuk. To connect the two devices, he used jumper wires, but
breakout
boards
are also available. He was able to create some
example code
with help from
wiibrew.org
. When paired with a Nunchuk, which contains a 3-axis accelerometer, you can have a 6 degrees-of-freedom IMU for under $40, perfect for
controlling
your robots
or
logging data
.
[via
adafruit
] | 13 | 12 | [
{
"comment_id": "78907",
"author": "mack",
"timestamp": "2009-06-23T18:46:58",
"content": "that didn’t take long",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "78911",
"author": "nebulous",
"timestamp": "2009-06-23T19:31:02",
"content": "So is this... | 1,760,377,638.681514 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/23/how-to-build-your-own-spot-welder/ | How-to: Build Your Own Spot Welder | Steve Watkins | [
"Featured",
"how-to",
"Misc Hacks",
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"diy",
"home made",
"microwave",
"MOT",
"parts",
"spot welder",
"welder",
"welding"
] | Spot welders are used in the fabrication of automobiles, PC cases, power supplies, microwave ovens, electrical junction boxes, Faraday cages, and various electronics. A spot welder is used because it produces a highly defined point of contact weld. The materials are welded without excessive heating, so working pieces are handled easily. The weld is also highly controlled and repeatable. In this how-to we cover the basics of a spot welder, and then show you how to build one from a microwave oven transformer.
A spot welder’s electrodes serve at least three functions. They transfer electrical energy to the material while also holding it together; this also controls resistance. The greater the pinch force the less the resistance, which results in decreased resistive heating. A lesser pinch force results in increased resistive heating. The electrodes also conduct heat away from the material, while in the off cycles, helping to cool and temper the weld. A resistive spot weld is commonly referred to as a ‘nugget’. Spot welders are generally confined to ferrous materials which somewhat limits their application range. Most produce a weld with low voltage and high current. The welder in this How-to operates from a secondary of 3vac. The primary is 120vac line voltage that should be treated with respect. The low voltage secondary makes the welder very safe, so the electrical shock hazard from the electrode is virtually non-existent. There is however the risk of burn due to the high temperatures as with any welder.
This particular welder is not intended to weld a body panel on your 1966 Jeep; it will not work well on material heavier than 20gauge sheet metal. The intended use is for small projects, for it is not capable of continuous operation. Possible uses are as follows: Welding electrode material for
electrolysis cells
. Working with the fine
components of a vacuum tube
. Building a light weight frame for a small robotic platform. Most of us have enough parts laying around to build a spot welder. If you have a
microwave oven transformer (MOT)
laying around, then you are half way there. On a related note, we had covered a
microwave oven arc welder
in 2006.
We also needed some heavy gauge copper wire. We used about four feet of 4AWG wire to build the spot welder in the photo. Other materials included scrap 2×6, 2×2, two copper screw type lugs, two copper welding cable lugs, two MIG welder tips, two 4″ x 3/4″ zinc plated corner braces, drywall screws, and three washers.
Pictured above is a working MOT. The first thing we had to do was remove the secondary coils. Namely the high voltage winding, and the low voltage winding. We used an angle grinder with cut off wheel while being careful not to cut the primary winding.
We cut the secondary flush with the MOT
laminate core
. Both sides of the MOT should be cut. Inspect the MOT for signs that the laminate has been welded. We have found that welded MOTs can handle a little more abuse than their sealed only counter parts. If possible try to keep the core insulation intact, where the secondary will be wound. Though it is not a show stopper if the insulation becomes damaged. The insulation makes it a little easier to wrap the heavy gauge secondary.
After removal of the secondary we had something that resembles the above photo. If the magnetic shunt material falls out be sure to replace it as it was before. The shunt keeps the core from transferring too much power to the secondary. A magnetic ballast if you will. The shunt acts to control the saturation of the core. A brute force project like this relies on such a shunt for proper operation.
Rewinding a MOT
with 4AWG is no walk in the park. If you’ve damaged the core insulators, we suggest wrapping a layer of electrical tape in their place. This will help to avoid damaging the insulation on the wire as it is pulled through the core. Our experience is that 3-4 windings is plenty. After all, this spot welder relies on high current and marginal resistance. Not high voltage.
We were careful to ensure that the secondary
coil was wrapped in a helical
manner to complete the secondary.
We mounted the MOT and 2×2 to the 2×6 base. This particular build used 12″ 2×6 with two 7″ 2×2. These dimensions may or may not work depending on the physical size of your MOT. The only critical part here is keeping the wire length as short as possible.
After the lower jaw was mounted, we also attached the corner braces. It was found that a spare piece of 2×2 as a shim worked well to align the upper and lower jaw. After the upper jaw was aligned we attached it to the corner braces with screws. This formed the hinged portion of the jaw.
The picture above shows the MIG welder tip and the screw type copper lug. This is an improvement from an earlier model we had built. Initially, we used copper tubing with a hole and a piece of 6AWG grounding wire serving as the welding electrode. The grounding wire was held in place by a screw that threaded inside the copper tube perpendicular to the electrode. It was very crude, but it worked. This new method is much more practical.
Here are the two electrodes ready to be fixed to the lower and upper jaws. We double checked the MIG electrodes to make sure they were tight. A loose connection will take heat away from the
weld nugget
.
Evenly aligning the welding electrodes, we were careful to keep the upper jaw in the natural position where it was mounted. This maintained a flat contact area for the welding electrodes. After we were sure that the electrodes had been properly aligned, the jaws were marked. We then drilled a small hole. Since we mounted with the grain of the 2×2 the holes helped to protect from splitting the 2×2.
With the electrodes mounted, we cut the wire to proper length. We never cut the exact amount we need. We always cut more than we need. This rule of thumb should apply to all electrical wiring. After all it is much easier to cut off excess than wrap a new secondary.
We bent the wires in to the approximate positions in which they were to be assembled and stripped the wire in preparation for the crimp type welding lugs. It is a good idea to strip more than is needed here as well. Simply cut off excess after sizing up the lugs depth. Never crimp insulation with the lug. This will create a potential problem area due to the loss of conduction.
Using a good non insulation crimp tool to secure the wire. We inspected the crimp and gave it the tug test. Simply tug on the wire if it is loose it will pull out. It if doesn’t pull out then an adequate crimp suitable for high current has been made.
The crimped wires were attached to the welding electrodes with screws. We were careful not to over tighten the screws. If a drywall screw had stripped out of the wood, we would have had to use a larger wood screw in its place. After both welding electrodes were fixed to the jaws, we aligned the electrodes. Using pliers we bent the electrodes so that they contacted each other evenly. The electrodes should be fairly close already since they were aligned before drilling.
We opened the jaws and wired the primary to an electrical cord and then tested the secondary. If the breaker trips, check for the following:
The secondary is shorted (the jaws are closed)
The magnetic shunts are missing or not properly reinstalled
Faulty line wiring to primary or shorted primary
Too much load on the circuit of test or undersized breaker
We observed proper electrical wiring practices. It is also stressed that this is a welder and it should have a dedicated circuit as any other welder would have.
With the power physically disconnected we verified the welding electrode alignment with the material we intended to work on. Before connecting the power and performing an initial weld, we observed a few safety guidelines. This is a welder and will produce very high temperatures. Keep fingers away from the welding electrodes. Allow the material to cool prior to handling. Always wear eye protection. You may be interested in reading about
spot welder parameters
. There’s also the problem of combustible materials…
This Compaq used very thin aluminum to support the screen and connect the hinges. The metal broke and destroyed most of the lower plastic. We were able to make new supports from 22AWG stainless steel sheet metal. All the welds were made using the spot welder with a special power controller. The power controller will be covered in another how-to.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VG1xVNpm7k8] | 85 | 50 | [
{
"comment_id": "78889",
"author": "Jeeves",
"timestamp": "2009-06-23T16:19:10",
"content": "This project is nothing without the power controller circuitry.Hackaday, you had better make a followup post! =D",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "10135... | 1,760,377,638.436359 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/23/remote-shutter-release-doorbell/ | Remote Shutter Release Doorbell | Caleb Kraft | [
"digital cameras hacks"
] | [
"remote shutter release",
"trigger"
] | [Phillip] published this great step by step tutorial on making a
remote shutter release from a wireless doorbell
. The pictures are great and the process is fairly simple. There is only one additional chip requred and a little bit of soldering. This is a great way to get some remote shots for cheap.
[via
Lifehacker
] | 12 | 12 | [
{
"comment_id": "78886",
"author": "sparky",
"timestamp": "2009-06-23T16:06:18",
"content": "Clever project, but one comment: Image diode.jpg shows one god-awful solder joint.Look at a few of the photos at this site:http://www.sabest.org/kitinfo/soldering/soldering.html",
"parent_id": null,
... | 1,760,377,638.628122 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/23/ipodgyro/ | IPodGyro | Caleb Kraft | [
"iphone hacks",
"ipod hacks"
] | [
"gesture",
"gyro",
"iphone",
"ipod"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DG8khSe5gBQ&feature=player_embedded]
[Benjamin] submitted this slick project. It’s a
gesture based control unit for the ipod and iphone
. It plugs into the dock port and allows you to control the track and volume with simple gestures. While accellerometer equipped units can already “shake to shuffle”, they lack the ability to simply skip tracks forward or backward. He notes that with an accellerometer, simple gestures can be harder to decipher than with a gyro. The gyro gives the ability to tell which direction you are twisting it, so it’s easier to utilize. [Benjamin] was previously covered when he released the
iPodGPS
. | 7 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "78877",
"author": "Hong",
"timestamp": "2009-06-23T14:37:16",
"content": "noticed that the ipod touch was locked. Imagine listening to music and running with that in your pocket…you’d never finish a song.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comm... | 1,760,377,638.76881 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/22/things-to-hack-sub-100-toy-night-vision-projector-and-tv-game/ | Things To Hack: Sub 100$ Toy Night Vision, Projector, And Tv Game | Gerrit Coetzee | [
"News",
"Portable Video Hacks",
"Wearable Hacks"
] | [
"arcade",
"arstechnica",
"camera",
"electronics",
"led",
"night vision",
"nightvision",
"projector"
] | Ars Technica writes about
three new toys coming out this year
: a sub 100$ projector, tv game, and night vision goggles. The projector runs at standard TV resolution, takes standard composite in, and outputs an okay picture. The night vision goggles are monocular but focus both eyes on a single RGB LCD. The goggles uses an array of IR LEDs instead of amplifying ambient light to see in the dark. Lastly, they have a standalone implementation of the arcade game Big Game Hunters. The rifle uses a sensor bar to do the motion tracking and features a 32MB rom to hold the game files. | 14 | 14 | [
{
"comment_id": "78826",
"author": "TMH",
"timestamp": "2009-06-23T01:58:15",
"content": "Ooo Gotta get the projector and the Big Game Hunter! Think of the possibilities!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "78832",
"author": "pelrun",
"times... | 1,760,377,638.486323 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/22/induction-furnace/ | Induction Furnace | Steve Watkins | [
"Misc Hacks",
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"eddy current",
"electronics",
"high frequency",
"inductive heater",
"MOT",
"water cooled"
] | [Tim Williams] made
his own induction furnace
. A copper tubing coil forms the primary winding, as the material to be heated becomes the short circuited secondary. The load material is subject to high power magnetic fields operating at radio frequency. The rapidly changing field induces current flow within the material, creating a great deal of heat. The brute power required a cooling system to match. In the video below, the induction furnace can be seen melting common table salt.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctPtOONtGGg] | 19 | 19 | [
{
"comment_id": "78818",
"author": "Satiagraha",
"timestamp": "2009-06-23T00:20:06",
"content": "Good to finally see some of Sch3matic’s projects on here. He’s certainly capable enough to be a hack-a-day’er :D",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "788... | 1,760,377,638.874446 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/22/arduino-nixie-shield/ | Arduino Nixie Shield | Zach Banks | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"News"
] | [
"arduino",
"arduino shield",
"AVR",
"hv",
"kit",
"nixie",
"nixieclock",
"nixietube"
] | Reader [Bradley] sent in his ArduiNIX project, an
Arduino shield designed for driving nixie tubes
. The shield allows the Arduino to drive and multiplex nixie tubes without any additional hardware. These antique-looking displays are
commonly hacked into clocks
. It takes 9 volts from a wall wart and steps it up to over 200V in order to drive the displays. The shield is capable of multiplexing up to 80 individual elements. He has
example code
for driving a 6-digit display and a clock on his site. He is
selling kits and completed shields
too.
Related:
Victorian nixie tube clock
[thanks Bradley!] | 8 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "78813",
"author": "The Moogle",
"timestamp": "2009-06-22T23:38:04",
"content": "Yikes! 45$ for a kit? not tubes? + shipping?at most the board should be 15$ and the parts 10$ at most",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "78815",
"a... | 1,760,377,638.725593 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/22/adafruit-introduces-the-sensor-pack-900/ | Adafruit Introduces The Sensor Pack 900 | Nick Caiello | [
"Misc Hacks",
"News"
] | [
"adafruit",
"ladyada",
"sensor pack 900",
"sensors"
] | Our friends over [adafruit] recently released the
Sensor Pack 900
, a collection of parts for anyone who is interested in using analog sensors with their projects. The pack includes 9 sensors. They range from simple thermistors and hall effect sensors to sharp distance sensors. Also included in the pack are 3 unidentified components that can be used to interface with the analog sensors in the pack. At only $30, the
Sensor Pack 900
seems to offer a great set of introductory components for anyone prototyping a new device. | 9 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "78806",
"author": "googfan",
"timestamp": "2009-06-22T22:08:39",
"content": "They all take 1.21 jigawatts to power.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "78807",
"author": "saimhe",
"timestamp": "2009-06-22T22:10:41",
"con... | 1,760,377,638.817121 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/22/twypewriter/ | TwypeWriter | Caleb Kraft | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"home entertainment hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"twitter"
] | in the oomlout offices, everyone loves twitter
. They love it so very much, they decided to find new and fun ways to participate. This one is the TwypeWriter. It searches for a keyword and then physically types out the results for everyone to peruse. There are a couple videos of it in action on their site, as well as the source code to make one for your self.
[via the
Hack a Day flickr pool
] | 14 | 14 | [
{
"comment_id": "78787",
"author": "cptfalcon",
"timestamp": "2009-06-22T19:55:57",
"content": "Coolest twitter interface yet.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "78790",
"author": "Hirudinea",
"timestamp": "2009-06-22T20:11:55",
"conten... | 1,760,377,638.932877 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/22/atari-2600-slim/ | Atari 2600 Slim | Caleb Kraft | [
"home entertainment hacks"
] | [
"atari",
"retro",
"video games"
] | [Chris-Koopa] sent in this sweet little throwback to the good ol days of Atari 2600. He had been playing his old unit, lamenting the poor visual quality on his new TV when he had an idea. He picked up an
Atari flashback2 and began modding
. He added a cartridge slot and made some case modifications to make it look more like the 2600. The final result is that he can switch between the built in games, or play strait off of the cartridges with crisp clean video. There are other methods of doing this, like
modding the Atari itself
or building a
whole new console
, but this is pretty sweet too. | 6 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "78778",
"author": "numa",
"timestamp": "2009-06-22T18:32:56",
"content": "I need one of these on my dash, hooked into the display on my GPS. Love it!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "78782",
"author": "Joel",
"timestamp"... | 1,760,377,638.978521 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/21/vr-game-gun/ | VR Game Gun | Caleb Kraft | [
"computer hacks",
"home entertainment hacks",
"Peripherals Hacks"
] | [
"gaming",
"video games"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ym0tZSWGMc]
Many of you have probably experimented with alternative gaming interfaces. Here’s a well done little hack where they created
a gun with a display mounted on it, for video gaming
. At a glance you can probably figure out exactly what they’ve done. They’ve attached a gyration mouse to the gun for tracking and gutted a keyboard for the buttons. We have to give them some credit, they seem to have packaged it all nicely. Since it’s a standard mouse and keyboard, it just plugs in and works with any game. As you can see in their version, the screen works very well in this configuration, almost seeming like a giant scope. You can see the wireless version and hear their aspirations for projector based models after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnGSpAZtm38&feature=player_embedded] | 49 | 49 | [
{
"comment_id": "78697",
"author": "stevediraddo",
"timestamp": "2009-06-21T16:40:15",
"content": "thats awesome, but i’d opt for video goggles (despite how low-res they are)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "78698",
"author": "Oler",
"tim... | 1,760,377,639.431189 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/20/homemade-toroid-winder/ | Homemade Toroid Winder | Steve Watkins | [
"Robots Hacks",
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"coil",
"controller",
"electronics",
"parts",
"toroid"
] | [eclipsed78], built an
automatic toroid winder
(
Internet Archive
). The drum splits in order to load the toroid. Then wire is wound on the drum, much like any other coil would be wound. The drum rotates as a slider pulls the wire off the drum, while revolving in and out of the toroid. A side tension keeps the slack out of the wire during operation. The winding coil is stepped as the drum rotates, in order to control the turns ratio. [eclipsed78]
created a stepper driver
from a schematic, so he could drive the motors. You can watch the winder in operation
as a series of videos
. The first of which is embedded below. If you have ever needed to wind a massive toroidal transformer, this is the project for you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScfnMcMun-c | 17 | 16 | [
{
"comment_id": "78648",
"author": "TheFish",
"timestamp": "2009-06-20T22:23:39",
"content": "this is so cool, I’m going to build something with stepper motors.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "78652",
"author": "Addictronics",
"timestamp... | 1,760,377,639.218258 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/20/repair-a-malfunctioning-lcd/ | Repair A Malfunctioning LCD | Nick Caiello | [
"Misc Hacks",
"Repair Hacks",
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"diy",
"hot air gun",
"instructable",
"lcd",
"repair",
"ribbon cable",
"screen"
] | When most people encounter dead pixels on an LCD text display, they figure that the display is dead and they decide to scrap it. However when the LCD display on one of [Joe]’s cordless phones started to show dead rows and columns of pixels, [Joe] decided that he could fix it. With only a pencil eraser, a hot air gun, and a screwdriver (for disassembly), [Joe] was able to fix his phone’s screen in just under 10 minutes. His process involves heating the glue holding the LCD’s ribbon cable to the phones PCB with a hot air gun and using a pencil eraser to reattach segments of the ribbon cable to the PCB. If anyone here has a problem similar to [Joe]’s, be sure to
check out his detailed how-to
complete with step-by-step pictures. | 43 | 37 | [
{
"comment_id": "78645",
"author": "Ivan",
"timestamp": "2009-06-20T21:24:14",
"content": "Hot-air-repair fails to often to do on your own stuf. Rather do this with the iron for ironing shirts. The blow-gun is likely to wreak havock in there.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [... | 1,760,377,639.304496 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/19/usb-reader-for-snes-game-carts/ | USB Reader For SNES Game Carts | Gerrit Coetzee | [
"home entertainment hacks",
"News",
"Nintendo Hacks"
] | [
"AT90USBKey",
"AVR",
"cart",
"cartridge",
"diy",
"electronics",
"emulator",
"Evaluation Board",
"microcontroller",
"nintendo",
"snes",
"super nintendo",
"usb"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pwq6vRM8U7k]
Reader, [Matthias_H], sent in a video about his USB adapter for SNES game carts. All you have to do is plug in the SNES game cartridge and USB cable, then a ROM file of the game shows up as an external storage device on your computer. After that, you can play the ROM with your choice of emulator. We emailed [Matthias] asking for more information, and he quickly replied with a very nice writeup about the hack that is pasted below.
Update:
[Matthias] launched a site for the “snega2usb” with updates on the development of the board and a FAQ.
[Matthias] writes:
Part list:
Atmel AT90USBKey Evaluation Board
(Digikey – $30)
FCI 10046971-003LF 70-pos. 2-row connector
(Digikey – $4.76)
a little piece of prototyping board to solder the connector onto
thousands of little wires
I used the following reference documents:
http://www.emulatronia.com/doctec/consolas/snes/sneskart.html
(SNES cart pinout and ROM memory map)
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system/platform/firmware/fatgen.mspx
(FAT16/32 specs)
The somewhat ugly cable solution is due to the USBKey’s weird choice for .05″ pitch port connectors, for which I was not able to find suitable pin headers and ribbon cable connectors. The exact pinout is a bit weird and not worth publishing yet, since many of the I/O pins are in fact shared by the onboard peripherals, so I have to spread the address and data bits among the available pins. A cleaner version with all parts on a custom PCB is on its way, as well as support for the Sega Genesis (working hard towards the all-in-one solution :-))
Code is based on the Atmel USB Mass Storage example app, to which I added a module for ROM access and a read-only FAT16 (the latter was hard-coded in a hex editor – FUN!). Again, development is still at a very early stage (I tested this on exactly one game cart), and as of now, redistribution of the source is in fact prohibited by Atmel’s proprietary license.
I’m not quite satisfied with the data rate yet. As of now, newer-generation console carts (N64 etc), while absolutely possible to read out, would take forever to load. The device is running at USB 2.0 full-speed (12 Mbps), and I am not aware of any cheap solution that offers high-speed USB (480 Mbps).
Open issues:
– testing with as many different games as possible (feel free to donate your least favorite game carts! :-))
– issuing a refresh when the cartridge is removed/replaced! The USB Mass Storage protocol uses the SCSI command set, so the device cannot send requests (“refresh directory, file may have changed”) to the host.
– optimization for speed
– add compatibility for HiROM games
By the way, I’ve never done anything like this before. The fact that it was so easy kind of scares the hell out of me ;-)
I think this is as exhaustive a description as I can give for now.
Hope you’re fine with it.
-Matthias | 82 | 50 | [
{
"comment_id": "78554",
"author": "Lupin",
"timestamp": "2009-06-19T23:12:08",
"content": "wow, it’s playing “directly” from cart! Really nice. Kicks ass!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "78555",
"author": "foley",
"timestamp": "2009-06-... | 1,760,377,639.51565 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/19/arduino-camera-laser-trigger/ | Arduino Camera Laser Trigger | Zach Banks | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"digital cameras hacks",
"Laser Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"camera",
"camera trigger",
"chdk",
"ethernet",
"laser",
"remote"
] | [Adam] made a
remote camera trigger that uses a laser
. He had to install
CHDK
on his camera, which we’ve
featured in a how-to
, in order for it to work. CHDK allowed for a remote shutter trigger through the USB port. The laser bounces off a mirror and onto the photoresisitor hooked up to an Arduino. When the beam is broken, the Arduino sets off the trigger. He also plans to use the trigger to tweet over ethernet. Embedded is a video demonstrating its functionality.
[vimeo
http://vimeo.com/4603644%5D
[Related
Control your camera remotely with your DS
]
[via
adafruit
] | 7 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "78547",
"author": "hang",
"timestamp": "2009-06-19T21:28:46",
"content": "looks like the camera needs to be set to take pictures more instantly to be practical.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "78552",
"author": "anonymous",
... | 1,760,377,639.353169 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/19/iphone-3g-s-teardown/ | IPhone 3G S Teardown | Zach Banks | [
"Cellphone Hacks",
"iphone hacks",
"News"
] | [
"apple",
"camera",
"cellphone",
"ifixit",
"iphone",
"iphone 3g s",
"rapid repair",
"teardown"
] | Already, both
Rapid repair
and
ifixit
have
torn down
the new iPhone 3G S, and
phonewreck has provided some analysis
. The new CPU runs twice as fast at 600 MHz and supports 720p video. They also found that the new 3 megapixel camera took better photos. Surprisingly, despite apple’s claims that the new phone has significantly better battery life, the battery itself has only 6% more capacity. Overall, not much has changed.
[Related
iPhone 3G under the hood
] | 9 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "78560",
"author": "sean",
"timestamp": "2009-06-19T23:41:51",
"content": "odds are there is little if no increase in battery life if thats the case with the increased CPU speed",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "78563",
"author... | 1,760,377,639.7554 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/19/iphone-pwnagetool-released/ | IPhone PwnageTool Released | Eliot | [
"Cellphone Hacks",
"iphone hacks",
"ipod hacks"
] | [
"apple",
"cydia",
"iphone",
"iphone dev team",
"jailbreak",
"pwnagetool",
"ultrasn0w",
"unlock"
] | The iPhone dev-team has released an
updated version of PwnageTool
. It supports jailbreaking iPhones using the 3.0 firmware. This update does not include the much easier to use QuickPwn, but it should be coming soon. The release also doesn’t include the UltraSn0w unlock which will be coming via Cydia.
[photo:
edans
] | 5 | 5 | [
{
"comment_id": "78540",
"author": "Abuthemagician",
"timestamp": "2009-06-19T20:21:26",
"content": "Custom IPSW files will cause a 1600 error when restoring them in windows",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "78616",
"author": "sunjester",
... | 1,760,377,639.560497 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/18/arduino-powered-cd-changing-robot/ | Arduino Powered CD Changing Robot | Steve Watkins | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"cd",
"cd changer",
"motor shield",
"robot",
"robot arm",
"vacuum"
] | [ross], a reader is working on a
CD changing and ripping robot
. The arm picks up a CD and the platform then rotates, stopping in front of the tray to drop the CD. A JB welded tire pump provides the vacuum pick up, while a brake light acts as a resistor to trick a PC power supply into operation. A
Motor Shield
beefs up an Arduino in order to drive the servos. | 21 | 21 | [
{
"comment_id": "78458",
"author": "sean",
"timestamp": "2009-06-19T01:58:51",
"content": "how come i think i’ve seen a cd changing robot on here before",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "78459",
"author": "Spork",
"timestamp": "2009-06-19T... | 1,760,377,639.882762 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/18/microcontroller-cheat-sheet/ | Microcontroller Cheat Sheet | Eliot | [
"Misc Hacks",
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"alex",
"atmega",
"AVR",
"cheat sheet",
"ftdi",
"isp",
"tinkerlog"
] | [Alex] put together this
handy cheat sheet
to make pinout lookups much quicker. It covers the most common chips from the AVR line, ISP headers, and FTDI cables. | 14 | 14 | [
{
"comment_id": "78445",
"author": "hurrrrr",
"timestamp": "2009-06-18T22:49:23",
"content": "Great Hack.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "78446",
"author": "steve",
"timestamp": "2009-06-18T23:13:32",
"content": "I have these all han... | 1,760,377,639.609137 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/18/bolt-action-coil-gun/ | Bolt-action Coil Gun | Eliot | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"bolt action",
"coil gun",
"gizmodo",
"magazine",
"techeblog"
] | TechEBlog has posted a few pictures of a
student constructed coil gun
. It’s bolt-action and includes a six round magazine. The gun only has a single stage to accelerate the projectile. While not as impressive as the
portable coil pistol
, it’s still more fun than most shop projects we’ve seen. You can find a video of the device below.
[blip.tv ?posts_id=2262511&dest=-1]
[via
Gizmodo
] | 24 | 24 | [
{
"comment_id": "78438",
"author": "Nemo",
"timestamp": "2009-06-18T21:30:13",
"content": "i wish those switches were epoxied or glued or something, but otherwise it looks really nice.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "78439",
"author": "Charl... | 1,760,377,639.820435 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/17/meat-thermometer-using-predictive-filtering/ | Meat Thermometer Using Predictive Filtering | Gerrit Coetzee | [
"home hacks",
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"atmega",
"ATmega168",
"AVR",
"diy",
"filtering",
"LM34",
"microcontroller",
"nerdkits",
"predictive",
"pygame",
"python",
"thermometer"
] | The guys over at NerdKits put together a really informative video on a meat thermometer using predictive filtering which is viewable below. The video,
supplemental text, and code
is available on their website. The thermometer is constructed of a
LM34 temperature sensor
attached to a piece of 12 gauge solid copper wire. The thermometer signal is processed on an ATmega168 microcontroller and visualized using the pygame library for python. The real gem in this project is their excellent explanation of predictive filtering, which could easily be utilized for a large number of projects.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mvZHN5ew5M]
[Thanks Humberto] | 20 | 20 | [
{
"comment_id": "78354",
"author": "Dazureus",
"timestamp": "2009-06-18T03:44:11",
"content": "You know, it’s funny. During the course of my EE degree, I’ve taken a handful of signals classes and only applied transfer functions on paper for signal (AM, FM, PM, etc) transforms and bandwidth calculat... | 1,760,377,639.936599 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/17/addressable-rgb-led-strip/ | Addressable RGB LED Strip | Zach Banks | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"LED Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"HL1606",
"led",
"lighting",
"lightstrip",
"rgb",
"serial",
"synaptic labs"
] | [Synoptic Labs] stumbled upon an
RGB light strip with individually-controllable LEDs
. The strip uses 5 volts and is controlled by an HL1606. Because the strips are hard to find, this chip is mostly undocumented and he had trouble driving the strip. He was unable to get it working until he met with [John Cohn], who had previously reverse-engineered the serial protocol. Working together, they released a
library for the Arduino
to drive the strip. So far, the library only supports fading each LED, the only known functionality. If more strips like these were available, constructing LED matrices would be much easier. Embedded below is a video of the strip fading through the rainbow.
[youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydVPq7UGVZc%5D
[Related:
LED ambient light strips
] | 50 | 49 | [
{
"comment_id": "78334",
"author": "Joe",
"timestamp": "2009-06-18T01:03:41",
"content": "where oh where can i buy this?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "78335",
"author": "Joe",
"timestamp": "2009-06-18T01:04:06",
"content": ".",
... | 1,760,377,640.028792 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/17/iphone-3-0-tethering-is-easy/ | IPhone 3.0 Tethering Is Easy | Eliot | [
"Cellphone Hacks",
"iphone hacks",
"Mac Hacks"
] | [
"9 to 5 mac",
"apple",
"att",
"iphone",
"iphone 3.0",
"iphone dev team",
"tethering",
"ultrasn0w",
"waxpancake"
] | Did you
upgrade your iPhone to 3.0
yet? 9 to 5 Mac has posted a very good reason to upgrade:
enabling tethering is almost stupidly simple
. Just run a simple command and then go through a restore procedure. All thats left is to sit back and enjoy your other new features you could find on a four year old Nokia.
[Related:
ultrasn0w announced
]
[via
@waxpancake
] | 19 | 19 | [
{
"comment_id": "78331",
"author": "anon",
"timestamp": "2009-06-18T00:39:18",
"content": "All thats left is to sit back and enjoy your other new features you could find on a four year old Nokia.and why people will pay a premium for this dated functionality, i will never know",
"parent_id": null... | 1,760,377,640.080105 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/17/slowloris-http-denial-of-service/ | Slowloris HTTP Denial Of Service | Zach Banks | [
"Misc Hacks",
"Security Hacks"
] | [
"apache",
"dos",
"HTTP",
"perl",
"rsnake",
"servers",
"slowloris",
"web"
] | [RSnake] has
developed a denial of service technique
that can take down servers more effectively. Traditionally,
performing a denial of service attack
entailed sending thousands of requests to a server, these requests needlessly tie up resources until the server fails. This repetitive attack requires the requests to happen in quick succession, and is usually a distributed effort. However, [RSnake]’s new technique has a client open several HTTP sessions and keeps them open for as long as possible. Most servers are configured to handle only a set number of connections; the infinite sessions prevent legitimate requests from being handled, shutting down the site. This vulnerability is present on webservers that use threading, such as Apache.
A positive side effect of the hack is that the server does not crash, only the HTTP server is affected. His example perl implementation,
slowloris
, is able to take down an average website using only one computer. Once the attack stops, the website will come back online immediately.
Update: Reader [Motoma] sent in a
python implementation
of slowloris called
pyloris
[photo:
cutebreak
] | 40 | 38 | [
{
"comment_id": "78321",
"author": "colecago",
"timestamp": "2009-06-17T22:46:41",
"content": "that has to be shooped.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "78322",
"author": "Alex",
"timestamp": "2009-06-17T22:49:55",
"content": "Abusing ... | 1,760,377,640.155162 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/16/ekahau-heatmapper-maps-out-wifi-signals/ | Ekahau HeatMapper Maps Out WiFi Signals | Gerrit Coetzee | [
"downloads hacks",
"Security Hacks",
"Wireless Hacks"
] | [
"autodesk dragonfly",
"ekahau",
"heatmapper",
"map",
"wardriving",
"warwalking",
"wifi",
"wireless"
] | The term ‘warwalking’ isn’t used very often, but the Ekahau HeatMapper adds a
new tool to the pod bound hacker’s arsenal
. The tool maps out wireless access points as well as their signal strength within a facility. A test of the HeatMapper on a
map made with AutoDesk Dragonfly
accurately determined the location of a router within 3 feet and helped tune the angle it needed to be at for maximum range. Ekahau made a fantastically cheesy promotional video for their product, which is viewable after the jump. The program is free of charge, but unfortunately only runs on windows, so mac and *nix users are out of luck, though it might run under wine.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaosqBuU354]
[via
Download Squad
] | 36 | 36 | [
{
"comment_id": "78241",
"author": "Adam Ziegler",
"timestamp": "2009-06-17T01:43:31",
"content": "kismet with gps",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "78242",
"author": "Adam Ziegler",
"timestamp": "2009-06-17T01:46:17",
"content": "(oop... | 1,760,377,640.236177 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/16/controllable-bristlebot/ | Controllable Bristlebot | Zach Banks | [
"Misc Hacks",
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"attiny13",
"AVR",
"bristlebot",
"emsl",
"linefollowing",
"mouse",
"robot",
"sensor",
"sprite_tm"
] | [sprite_tm], whose projects we have
covered in the past
, took the popular bristlebot to an extreme and created a
controllable version
. A
bristlebot
consists of a small vibrating motor mounted with a battery on the head of a toothbrush. These micro-robots buzz around randomly, and he attempted to tame them. He used a platform of twin bristlebots and added an optical sensor from a laser mouse and an ATtiny13. The optical sensor is used to determine the relative motion of the robot, so that the motors can be adjusted accordingly. He also has a video of the bot using the sensor to find a mark on the floor and stay within bounds. Although it isn’t as accurate, it acts like a traditional line-following robot.
[thanks sprite_tm] | 19 | 19 | [
{
"comment_id": "78223",
"author": "landon",
"timestamp": "2009-06-16T22:04:02",
"content": "sick! that looks like a really fun project.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "78227",
"author": "-.-",
"timestamp": "2009-06-16T22:43:55",
"co... | 1,760,377,640.556475 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/16/arduino-experimentation-kit/ | Arduino Experimentation Kit | Zach Banks | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"News"
] | [
"arduino",
"breadboard",
"kits",
"led",
"microcontroller",
"oomlout",
"servo",
"tutorial"
] | [Oomlout] has created an
Arduino Experimentation Kit
that uses basic sensors, buttons, and LEDs to teach electronics and programming. Printed overlays are secured on a breadboard, indicating components and connections.
The Arduino is then used to drive the circuit. Examples include driving motors, using shift registers, and making beeps with a piezo element. These are backed up by
explanations and code. The breadboarding kit is very similar to the classic 300-in-1 project kits marketed to beginners.
In addition, all of the materials are
released as open source
.
Kits are also available
that include everything needed to create the circuits.
Related:
Opensource Robotic Arm
[via
Hack a Day flickr pool
] | 8 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "78221",
"author": "Addictronics",
"timestamp": "2009-06-16T21:19:55",
"content": "Perfect! What a great way to teach someone new to the Arduino arena how to use it and get started building things. I honestly wish that things like this could be found more locally and used with basic ... | 1,760,377,640.414305 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/16/dell-vostro-a90-hackintosh/ | Dell Vostro A90 Hackintosh | Eliot | [
"computer hacks",
"Mac Hacks",
"Netbook Hacks"
] | [
"bios",
"boing boing gadgets",
"bootloader",
"dell",
"dell mini 9",
"dell vostro a90",
"dellefi",
"gizmodo",
"hackintosh",
"laptop",
"leopard",
"mechdrew",
"mini 9",
"netbook",
"OsX",
"osx86",
"usb",
"vostro a90",
"wallpaper"
] | A friend recently commissioned us to install OSX on a netbook. We advised him to purchase the Dell Vostro A90. It’s essentially a rebadged Dell Mini 9, a model that has been discontinued, but is
well suited for OSX
. It’s only available with a 1.6GHz Atom processor, 1GB RAM, and 16GB SSD. Depending on what deals are available, it’s $250-$300. We also had him purchase a 2GB stick of RAM which is the upper limit supported by the BIOS.
Having read
Gizmodo’s guide
earlier, we knew that process would not be too difficult. The install has actually gotten even easier in the last few months. We followed the
DellEFI guide hosted on mechdrew
without many problems. The only equipment we needed was a retail Leopard disk, a Mac, and our trusty
USB/SATA adapter
attached to an old 120GB laptop drive. We copied our image of a legitimate 10.5.6 retail disk to the harddrive and then used DellEFIBootMaker to make it bootable. We copied the DellEFI 1.2a5 program and the 10.5.7 cumulative update to the drive as well. With this, the drive had everything we needed to complete the install.
Plugging the drive into the Vostro A90 we dropped into the BIOS setup to turn on USB legacy support so we could boot the drive. We found that we’d often have to go to BIOS first, then exit in order to give the drive time to spin up and appear in the boot menu. After partitioning the laptop drive, the installation is identical to any other Leopard install. The process froze on us on two separate occasions before we got a complete install. It was just a matter of try, try again to get it to work. We think it may have been the fault of the drive we were using. After that completed, we were able to boot our brand new OSX machine and install the 10.5.7 update. We used DellEFI to install the permanent bootloader.
Everything seems to work fine and it’s a lovely little machine. We highly recommend the
DellEFI single USB drive method
which was Version 3.02 at time of writing.
[Bonus:
Hack a Day wallpaper
design by John Keppel] | 44 | 43 | [
{
"comment_id": "78205",
"author": "ACEdotcom",
"timestamp": "2009-06-16T19:07:41",
"content": "But if i case have it wrapped in apple’s shiny, pretty casing what good is OSX?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "78207",
"author": "pod",
"tim... | 1,760,377,640.50628 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/15/c64-twitter-client/ | C64 Twitter Client | Eliot | [
"computer hacks",
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"c128",
"c64",
"commodore 64",
"contiki",
"retro thing",
"twitter",
"vice"
] | The last of the Commodore 64’s shortcomings has been addressed; it
finally has a Twitter client
. [Johan Van den Brande] wrote BREADBOX64 for use on the C64/128. It’s running on top of the open source Contiki operating system. The hardware is an
MMC Replay
cartridge with an ethernet adapter. If you don’t have the hardware available, you can run it inside an emulator like
VICE
. Embedded below is a C128D running the program.
(P.S. all of our posts are on
@hackadaydotcom
)
[youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8m86mm-SMGA%5D
[via
Retro Thing
] | 18 | 18 | [
{
"comment_id": "78157",
"author": "aSSbAG",
"timestamp": "2009-06-16T00:55:56",
"content": "Another useless project from the “because I could, that’s why” mindset.So yeah, useless but cool.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "78161",
"author": ... | 1,760,377,640.366411 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/15/theremin-controlled-mario/ | Theremin Controlled Mario | Eliot | [
"digital audio hacks",
"Nintendo Hacks",
"Peripherals Hacks"
] | [
"conquerearth",
"gizmodo",
"mario",
"smb",
"super mario bros",
"theremin"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnZeI8uLJnw]
In the video above, [conquerearth] is using a theremin to control Super Mario Bros. Moving his hand toward and away from the vertical antenna increases the theremin’s pitch. The computer monitors this in real time and moves Mario left and right. The loop antenna controls the theremin’s volume and acts as the jump button. The controls seem to work well, much better than the sound of one man flailing at a theremin.
[via
Gizmodo
] | 24 | 24 | [
{
"comment_id": "78145",
"author": "Eleftherios Kosmas",
"timestamp": "2009-06-15T23:04:11",
"content": "Hmmm… so can we use a theremin as input device, like a 3d mouse or something like that…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "78146",
"author"... | 1,760,377,640.763784 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/15/rgbike-pov-2/ | RGBike POV | Eliot | [
"Android Hacks",
"LED Hacks",
"Transportation Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"atmega328",
"AVR",
"bicycle",
"bike",
"instructable",
"led",
"monkeylectric",
"POV",
"pwm",
"rgb",
"spokepov"
] | [Hazard] wanted a
full color POV display for his bike
wheel. Adafruit’s
SpokePOV
is single color and Monkeylectric’s
original version
didn’t display images. He also balked at the cost and decided to manufacture his own version. It uses 16 RGB LEDs on a single layer board he manufactured himself. It’s an entirely through-hole design to make assembly easy. It uses a hall effect sensor to synchronize the image display. The two main components are an ATmega328p microcontroller, which should make it Arduino compatible, and a TLC5940 PWM LED driver. It’s a very well documented build and certainly a good looking effect.
[via
adafruit
] | 7 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "78131",
"author": "firetech",
"timestamp": "2009-06-15T21:03:20",
"content": "Dup Posthttp://hackaday.com/2009/06/11/rgbike-pov/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "78133",
"author": "stinkymonkey",
"timestamp": "2009-06-15T... | 1,760,377,640.607522 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/12/atari-wallets/ | Atari Wallets | Caleb Kraft | [
"Wearable Hacks"
] | [
"atari",
"cartridge",
"wallet"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbpq8NEWxYc]
[niles] has refined
the art of making wallets out of game cartridges
. Specifically, he is using Atari cartridges. He’s gotten down to about a two hour process which results in a decently usable wallet.
We’ve seen someone make a cartridge wallet
before, and we have to ask the same question; who wants to carry this around in their pocket?
[thanks yuppicide] | 30 | 30 | [
{
"comment_id": "77914",
"author": "pod",
"timestamp": "2009-06-12T14:34:08",
"content": "it seems it even keeps its functionality.coll but not exactly comfortable once in your pocket :P",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "77916",
"author": "Ron... | 1,760,377,641.810006 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/11/phonepoint-pen/ | PhonePoint Pen | Caleb Kraft | [
"Cellphone Hacks"
] | [
"accellerometer",
"cell phone",
"gesture"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nvu2hwMFkMs&feature=player_embedded]
Some grad students at Duke University have been working on a new tool for cell phones equipped with accellerometers.
The software called Phonepoint Pen
, allows you to write with your phone in the air. Though we don’t find the applications they mention very practical, we could see this being very nice for application navigation. If you could program a 3 dimentional gesture to load certain apps, that would be nice. | 17 | 17 | [
{
"comment_id": "77860",
"author": "36chambers",
"timestamp": "2009-06-11T19:19:51",
"content": "This is nothing new right? Movosity,light writer,Airpaint etc, are all iphone apps that do just this.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "77865",
"... | 1,760,377,640.86521 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/11/rgbike-pov/ | RGBike POV | Caleb Kraft | [
"LED Hacks",
"Transportation Hacks"
] | [
"led",
"POV"
] | [Hazard] is designing this
open source POV system for bikes
. With the recent release of
Monkey Electric’s m464q
, [Hazard] was inspired. He found the price tag of roughly $2,000 to be way too much though. He is designing his own and taking us along for the trip. He hasn’t quite reached the Monkey Electric level of features, but he does have image display and simple animation. He encourages others to join him in improving the design. He notes that the image on the back side of the wheel is mirrored, so text would be backwards. Maybe he can pick some tips up from
this old project
. | 13 | 13 | [
{
"comment_id": "77837",
"author": "Haku",
"timestamp": "2009-06-11T15:14:53",
"content": "Excellent, I really hope this project gets close to that of MonkeyElectric’s amazing (but expensive) display, but I fear 16 LEDs is not nearly enough, I’d want triple or quadruple that amount.SpokePOV is good ... | 1,760,377,640.815402 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/10/real-guitar-guitar-hero/ | Real Guitar + Guitar Hero | Caleb Kraft | [
"home entertainment hacks",
"Peripherals Hacks",
"Playstation Hacks"
] | [
"guitar hero"
] | [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b_mE4JhF1o]
[Alan] isn’t very good at guitar. He says so himself. He’s not that great at guitar hero either. Was that medium difficulty? Let’s put aside his skill to talk about
his controller
. He has fused the guitar hero controller with a real guitar. The original guitar has retained its functionality, though the controller bits may get in the way if he jams really hard. With a flip of the switch, it turns into a guitar hero controller. You simply press the strings down at the frets where the buttons should be, while strumming the controller part. | 35 | 34 | [
{
"comment_id": "77776",
"author": "Patrick",
"timestamp": "2009-06-10T21:27:56",
"content": "When I was little – I played a game called Simon.It was a box that lit up 4 different colors in various orders.The object was to play them back in the same order. Very Simple.Now, as an adult, I see Guita... | 1,760,377,641.055485 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/10/kali-the-makerbot/ | Kali The Makerbot | Caleb Kraft | [
"cnc hacks"
] | [
"cnc",
"cupcake",
"makerbot",
"reprap"
] | Is this the beginning of a new trend? We’ve seen case modding in computers for a while now, but are we going to start seeing extreme case modding for our CNC machines?
This is Kali
. Kali eats plastic and pukes parts. Nice. | 9 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "77757",
"author": "numa",
"timestamp": "2009-06-10T17:25:06",
"content": "Absolutely cool – like a RepRap with a bad attitude!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "77759",
"author": "hunnter",
"timestamp": "2009-06-10T18:01:5... | 1,760,377,640.98941 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2009/06/10/extra-pleo-battery-pack/ | Extra Pleo Battery Pack | Caleb Kraft | [
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"battery pack",
"pleo",
"ugobe"
] | Those of you who have played with a Pleo know exactly where this is going. The Pleo averages about 30 minues per 2-3 hour charge. Just swap batteries you say? Nope, the battery packs aren’t available. Fortunately, you can
make your own pretty easily
. The basic frame is a standard battery pack for 6 AA’s. There are only a few modifications necessary to line up the leads and make it fit once you’ve loaded it with batteries. | 11 | 10 | [
{
"comment_id": "77745",
"author": "eldorel",
"timestamp": "2009-06-10T14:53:56",
"content": "Might be nice to include a link to explain what a pleo is.herewikipedia",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "6468032",
"author": "Jett",
"... | 1,760,377,640.919842 |
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