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https://hackaday.com/2006/04/11/ergonomic-vertical-mouse/
Ergonomic Vertical Mouse
Eliot
[ "Peripherals Hacks" ]
[]
I love waking up and finding a great project from a reader like this ergonomic mouse ( cache ). As you can see from the picture, the centerpiece is the massive scroll wheel made from a VCR head. He credits jpaturzo for the idea . The inertia of the wheel gives a lot better sense of how fast you are progressing through a document than methods like auto-scroll. The mouse is assumed to be more ergonomic because it keeps the bones in your forearm in line. The hand rest on the mouse is formed from Shapelock . permalink
23
23
[ { "comment_id": "18511", "author": "Blahananas", "timestamp": "2006-04-11T18:17:57", "content": "those VCR heads will really cut up the skin on your hand if you keep spinning it around whale you hold it, those machined edges are Sharp. (but I suppose most of the cuts I got from handleing VCR heads d...
1,760,377,932.668965
https://hackaday.com/2006/04/10/thermaltake-mini-fridge/
Thermaltake Mini Fridge
Eliot
[ "home entertainment hacks" ]
[]
[Jared Bouck] has posted the latest project at Inventgeek: Thermaltake minifridge . Jared isn’t a big fan of the cost/reliability trade-off that comes with most overclocking projects so he decided to take on an entirely different cooling project. He found this Thermaltake case that resembled a refrigerator and took it the rest of the way. The cooling components came out of two 65W peltier camping coolers. After gutting the case, he mounted the power supply so that the intake and exhaust are external to the case. The peltier coolers were wired directly to the PS and the entire case was lined with foam. The last step was to add plexiglass ramps for the cans. permalink
23
23
[ { "comment_id": "18488", "author": "steel maverick", "timestamp": "2006-04-10T19:44:30", "content": "Now he should make this into a working PC. That’s what i would do. Sodas and a pc. w00tFIRST POST = ME!!!!", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "18487...
1,760,377,932.728103
https://hackaday.com/2006/04/09/fan-controller/
Fan Controller
Eliot
[ "computer hacks" ]
[]
Unhappy with commercial fan controllers Jos van Eijndhoven decided to build his own . The circuit supports three LM60 temperature sensors with pots to adjust the turn on temp. A PIC 16F676 microcontroller reads the temps and controls three groups of fans. A potentiometer is also supplied to control the minimum fan speed. To prevent oscillation the fan speed is reduced slowly in response to temperature drop. [thanks Alan ] permalink
18
18
[ { "comment_id": "18465", "author": "Chris L", "timestamp": "2006-04-09T20:45:25", "content": "http://shop2.outpost.com/product/3745256?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PGOnly $17 and simple.How silly to hack like that.Woot first post.", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "...
1,760,377,932.781429
https://hackaday.com/2006/04/20/barcode-scanner-based-line-follower/
Barcode Scanner Based Line Follower
Eliot
[ "Robots Hacks" ]
[]
Brody thought it was high time we featured another robot project and directed us to his site: bfrdesign.com . For his line follower bot he used an old barcode scanner he found cheap at a junk shop. The scanner has a 2088 pixel ccd linear image sensor. Several red LEDs are used to illuminate the image and the data is fed to an ATmega8. The wheels are then driven using two Sanwa servos modified for continuous rotation. He’s got a couple other projects on the site and I’m sure we’ll see more in the future. permalink
10
10
[ { "comment_id": "18730", "author": "hal hockersmith", "timestamp": "2006-04-20T21:12:41", "content": "Damn. This post is two weeks late. We were going to build one of these for a demo at the University Openhouse but ended up using a Lego kit.Had we had this and they hadent changed the rules we would...
1,760,377,932.538791
https://hackaday.com/2006/04/19/touch-probe-for-3d-scanning/
Touch Probe For 3D Scanning
Eliot
[ "cnc hacks", "Misc Hacks" ]
[]
Graham calls this touch probe his first useful milling project. He had already built the CNC mill and once he built this probe on the mill he essentially had a 3D scanner. The central hub is supported by three shafts spaced evenly around its axis. These shafts each rest on a pair of ball bearings to make a complete circuit. If the probe bumps into anything, one of the shafts will lift, breaking the circuit. TurboCNC has a built in routine for scanning with a touch probe. The program generates a point file which Graham pulled into Rhino for modeling. His example application was cloning a model airplane prop that had gone out of production. The TurboCNC routine isn’t very quick since the probe always returns to the same height so he’s coding a faster algorithm. This type of touch based scanning was also employed in agiecco’s LEGO 3D scanner . permalink
9
9
[ { "comment_id": "18720", "author": "kURTROEDEGER", "timestamp": "2006-04-19T22:50:44", "content": "I like this, I’ll be interested in his quicker program.–KurtRoedeger", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "18719", "author": "shameek", "timesta...
1,760,377,932.872698
https://hackaday.com/2006/04/18/phase-change-cooling-system/
Phase Change Cooling System
Eliot
[ "computer hacks" ]
[]
Chris Morrell has an impressive write up on all the ins and outs of building a phase change cooling system . Vapor refrigeration moves heat from one area to another by changing the phase of the working fluid. Chris used propane as the working fluid in his system. He’s got instructions covering all of the work involved from brazing the copper tubes, to building and lapping the evaporator blocks, to the final tuning. With no load it’s can hit -45DegC. This story reminded me to check back on extremecorvette’s cascading cooler from last fall. He started receiving parts last month for a brand new design. I can’t wait to see how that turns out. [via Paul Stamatiou ] permalink
29
29
[ { "comment_id": "18710", "author": "Ne", "timestamp": "2006-04-18T09:45:29", "content": "Waitwouldn’t the propane ignite?~_~", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "18711", "author": "Paul Stamatiou", "timestamp": "2006-04-18T09:50:10", "con...
1,760,377,933.112752
https://hackaday.com/2006/04/17/20-fisheye-digital-camera/
$20 Fisheye Digital Camera
Eliot
[ "digital cameras hacks" ]
[]
I know the camera pictured looks kind of wonky, “They just glued a peephole to a digicam, right?” The fisheye camera guide from Aggregate.org goes much further than that. They’ve tried out the $4 peephole lens on almost every camera in the office and have built dedicated ones using $15 pen cameras. I don’t plan on building one of these, but I did find their guide for removing “dark noise” from images really interesting. Sensor noise can be fairly consistent from shot to shot. So with some smart subtraction of a black frame from an image you can remove noise without blurring the image. They have information on masking and projection conversion as well. permalink
20
20
[ { "comment_id": "18683", "author": "john", "timestamp": "2006-04-17T22:33:47", "content": "looks cool, first post w00t!", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "18684", "author": "ted", "timestamp": "2006-04-18T00:01:58", "content": "fscking ...
1,760,377,932.604011
https://hackaday.com/2006/04/16/xbox-360-water-cooling-tutorial/
Xbox 360 Water Cooling Tutorial
Eliot
[ "Xbox Hacks" ]
[]
One of the most amazing things about the Xbox 360 isn’t the graphics or the high price; it’s how much heat the thing puts out. Hot air pours out of the machine and I’ve often considered turning mine into and Easy-Bake convection oven. People have been modifying the boxes since their initial release and xboxexpert, on xbox-scene , decided to put together a guide to help out anyone seeking to watercool their Xbox 360 . From the text it sounds like he didn’t even play the thing once he got it from the store, the first thing he did was pull it apart. His setup uses Coolance GPU water blocks and a Thermaltake cooling system powered from the DVD drive 12V line. permalink
23
23
[ { "comment_id": "18660", "author": "dakota killpack", "timestamp": "2006-04-16T20:24:31", "content": "hehe first comment.This is quite nice, I always feared getting a nasty burn from the xbox.", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "18661", "author"...
1,760,377,933.170907
https://hackaday.com/2006/04/15/canon-300d-mod-for-astrophotography-and-ir-imaging/
Canon 300D Mod For Astrophotography And IR Imaging
Eliot
[ "digital cameras hacks" ]
[]
[Jan-Erik Skata] recently had to perform surgery on his Canon 300D since the secondary mirror would not raise up (and if manually locked wouldn’t autofocus). His repair guide is good; you may remember his focus screen replacement . The thing I found really interesting was the site he referenced for his disassembly: Gary Honis’s Canon Digital Rebel (300D) Modification . Gary removes the IR cut glass from inside the camera and replaces it with a piece of clear glass. He then shows how to setup color correction and confirm that autofocus is still working correctly. He’s even got a mockup for how to add peltier cooling to the CMOS chip . permalink
14
14
[ { "comment_id": "18644", "author": "Loki", "timestamp": "2006-04-15T21:55:57", "content": "First post, sorry couldn’t help myself, good guide for any one with a 300d.", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "18642", "author": "evo31337", "timesta...
1,760,377,932.831978
https://hackaday.com/2006/04/14/pic-programmer-built-from-broken-monitor/
PIC Programmer Built From Broken Monitor
Eliot
[ "Misc Hacks" ]
[]
Khoa wanted to give a friend a microcontroller programmer ( cache ), but didn’t want to spend the money. He found almost every part he needed inside of a broken monitor he had in the closet. The only parts he had to provide were the perf board and the serial port. Even the socket was in the monitor. It was too wide, but he just cut out the center spar and made the socket narrower. permalink
35
35
[ { "comment_id": "18631", "author": "k lol hax m8 ^^ omfg teh hax ams on k?", "timestamp": "2006-04-14T19:35:22", "content": "this hack ams very nice ^^ im thinks im goinged to do it sum time. :D", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "18629", "autho...
1,760,377,933.044493
https://hackaday.com/2006/04/23/mf2006-difference-engine/
MF2006: Difference Engine
Eliot
[ "Uncategorized" ]
[]
I was pleasantly surprised to find Tim Robinson’s difference engines at the Maker Faire. Both machines are based on Charles Babbage’s designs and built out of Meccano. A difference engine is a mechanical computer for tabulating polynomial functions. You can read more about the construction on his site. More photos: one , two . permalink
7
7
[ { "comment_id": "18802", "author": "J", "timestamp": "2006-04-23T23:25:03", "content": "No, jackass, you DIDN’T get first post. I just didn’t verify my comment…", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "18801", "author": "digitallysick", "timestam...
1,760,377,933.217229
https://hackaday.com/2006/04/22/12-rc-ornithopter/
12″ RC Ornithopter
Eliot
[ "cnc hacks", "Misc Hacks" ]
[]
There was a little interest in Graham’s 3D scanning probe , but this is what he is normally using his tiny CNC machine for: manufacturing components for a tiny RC ornithopter . The scale of this thing is amazing. From the tiny gear train to the 0.5mm carbon spars the frame is constructed from. The rudder control only weighs one gram and the entire device comes in at 17 grams. permalink
7
7
[ { "comment_id": "18795", "author": "SOI Sentinel", "timestamp": "2006-04-22T18:16:21", "content": "Very cool design. Looks like the video’s down, though (probably a good thing for his bandwidth!)Makes me want to look at some of the hybrid ornithopter designs I read about coming out of college resea...
1,760,377,933.271761
https://hackaday.com/2006/04/22/mf2006-monome/
MF2006: Monome
Eliot
[ "Uncategorized" ]
[]
The people from the Monome project are out in full force at the Faire. They’ve got five of the 8×8 pads hooked up for people to play with. The first two pictured above actually work together as a 16 step loop system. There’s also one hooked up as a mixer and another as a drum machine. The fifth one is showing pixelated video from an iSight. The box is really well built. The $500 price point has shocked a lot of people, but it’s really unavoidable since they’re only doing a 200 device run. Something I hadn’t realized before is that the buttons are unique to the device, not off the shelf parts. The button is really a rubber cap that sits over the LED and has a conductive ring at the base. I hope they post a schematic for their 8×8 matrix controller so that anyone could build one. Here are a few more pictures: one , two , three . permalink
24
24
[ { "comment_id": "18787", "author": "Metalations", "timestamp": "2006-04-23T03:12:04", "content": "$45 and you get an extra 17 extra switches.http://www.hagstromelectronics.com/products/ke18.htmland DIY rejoice….http://www.hagstromelectronics.com/products/chips.htmlthey even sell encoder chips separa...
1,760,377,933.588161
https://hackaday.com/2006/04/22/ccc-videos-now-available/
CCC Videos Now Available
Eliot
[ "Uncategorized" ]
[]
I know a lot of you can’t make the Faire this weekend, but there’s still hope. The videos from the CCC hacker con in Berlin last December are now available via bittorrent which should provide plenty of nerdtainment this weekend. permalink
3
3
[ { "comment_id": "18764", "author": "satishkumar", "timestamp": "2006-04-23T09:51:01", "content": "i got an important material on this site which you can’t get it from other.thank u", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "18763", "author": "Mike", ...
1,760,377,933.727132
https://hackaday.com/2006/04/22/mf2006-the-electric-unicycle/
MF2006: The Electric Unicycle
Eliot
[ "Uncategorized" ]
[]
The nice thing about Maker Faire is all of the fun projects you can try out for yourself. Trevor Blackwell brought his balancing scooter and electric unicycle for people to ride. We’ve got more photos from the Faire on Flickr . permalink
5
5
[ { "comment_id": "18761", "author": "monster", "timestamp": "2006-04-22T23:58:48", "content": "Trevor blackwell is the nicest guy you would ever want to email back and forth to about electric scooters. he’s shown great patience with me asking questions about his scooter build. i really wish i got thi...
1,760,377,933.52212
https://hackaday.com/2006/04/21/maker-faire-tomorrow/
Maker Faire Tomorrow
Eliot
[ "Uncategorized" ]
[]
Will and I arrived safely in San Francisco and headed over to the Maker Faire to check out the setup. Well, we already found one thing we like FIRE. The venue is huge and we can’t wait to see everything tomorrow. permalink
4
4
[ { "comment_id": "18755", "author": "Jason", "timestamp": "2006-04-22T06:59:25", "content": "I’ll see you there! I can’t wait – Will you have HackADay schwag?", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "18756", "author": "Eliot Phillips", "timestamp"...
1,760,377,933.684666
https://hackaday.com/2006/04/21/iridium-flare-tracker/
Iridium Flare Tracker
Eliot
[ "Misc Hacks" ]
[]
Iridium is a constellation of 66 communication satellites. Each one features 3 large polished antennas. The reflection of sunlight off of these panels causes brilliant flashes of light. Since the satellite’s orbit is known the time and location of these flares can be calculated ahead of time. C.L.I.V.E. is a project designed for Burning Man to assist in observing these flares. It has a DPSS laser mounted to a turntable that automatically points at the location of the next flare. A large clock counts down the time till the event. Everything is controlled by an Xport 2.0 FPGA development board for the Game Boy Advance. All power is provided by a solar array and wind turbines. permalink
22
22
[ { "comment_id": "18752", "author": "Alex", "timestamp": "2006-04-21T18:27:14", "content": "lol this is cool", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "18750", "author": "Pocketbrain", "timestamp": "2006-04-21T18:35:29", "content": "burning man ...
1,760,377,933.647114
https://hackaday.com/2006/04/08/diy-surround-headphones/
DIY Surround Headphones
Eliot
[ "Portable Audio Hacks" ]
[]
I was stumbling through HeadWize ‘s project archive the other day when I came across Steve Connor’s Poor Man’s Surround Headphones . He used a pair of Sony MDR-CD60 for the base and added three pairs of ear buds. One pair is used for the front channel and two for the rears. The rears have their own amp with the bass turned up to increase the separation. He used a Sound Blaster Live! card for the source. If you are interested in amplifiers and other sound projects, you should definitely have a look at HeadWize . permalink
13
13
[ { "comment_id": "18446", "author": "Updatelee", "timestamp": "2006-04-08T22:09:32", "content": "was the author’s time/date wrong when he wrote this or is this article friggin old ?right at the bottom of the article.c. 1998", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comm...
1,760,377,933.778374
https://hackaday.com/2006/04/07/dd-wrt-running-on-wrt54g-version-5/
DD-WRT Running On WRT54G Version 5
Eliot
[ "Wireless Hacks" ]
[]
With version 5 of the WRT54G, Linksys decided to dump Linux and start using VxWorks. This made buying a WRT a gamble if you wanted one with Linux. DD-WRT recently released a micro version that supports version 5 . You’ll need a JTAG cable to install it since very little is known about VxWorks bootloader. Even with this new firmware it’s hard to ignore that the router is underpowered and you’d be better off with something else. [via Digg ] permalink
13
13
[ { "comment_id": "18433", "author": "joel", "timestamp": "2006-04-07T21:16:34", "content": "very interesting, might help future mods.", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "18434", "author": "t3h", "timestamp": "2006-04-08T03:26:06", "conten...
1,760,377,934.031205
https://hackaday.com/2006/04/06/carpc-shutdown-controller/
CarPC Shutdown Controller
Eliot
[ "Transportation Hacks" ]
[]
I’m sure most people that have built a CarPC are already familiar with shutdown controllers , but I think this hack is pretty clever. Computers don’t like being turned off suddenly so you need to figure out how to power down the PC safely. This circuit has a serial connector and appears to XP as a generic UPS. When the ignition is turned off it breaks the 5V line to COM pin 8. XP responds by hibernating. Once the computer shuts down the relay for the power inverter opens. When the ignition is switched on the inverter powers up and the computer turns on. [thanks SilverPill] permalink
25
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[ { "comment_id": "18422", "author": "Dave", "timestamp": "2006-04-06T18:09:38", "content": "First Post Biotches!!!Hells yeah.", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "18423", "author": "totally impressed by dave", "timestamp": "2006-04-06T18:16:25...
1,760,377,933.927701
https://hackaday.com/2006/04/06/boot-camp-i-give-up/
Boot Camp… I Give Up
Eliot
[ "Uncategorized" ]
[]
UPDATE: I’ve solved my issues click the “ Continue reading ” link. I’m sure you saw the news of Apple releasing the Windows bootloader Boot Camp yesterday. My current desktop machine is a Core Duo Mac mini so I figured I’d give it a shot (so I could run four folding threads, naturally). I downloaded the Boot Camp package and upgraded the mini’s firmware. The first thing the Boot Camp install assistant does is burn a driver disc for use after the XP install is complete. Once this is done it shrinks the HFS+ partition and creates an empty partition for Windows. It then asks you to insert the XP install disk (must have SP2). The Windows install proceeded normally and Windows booted. This is where my trouble began: the drivers didn’t apply cleanly. I could have retried but for one serious problem. To get the initial boot device selection screen to appear you have to hold down the “alt” key while the machine is starting. The only USB keyboard I have is a Gyration wireless one. The boot menu only showed up at best 1 in 10 attempts. Apple does provide software to choose which OS you want to boot by default, but since the Windows drivers didn’t install there was no guarantee I could flip the switch back to OS X once I was in XP. I decided the flaky “alt” key detection was probably my wireless keyboard not being fully initialized, so I made a late night run to the Megalomart to buy the cheapest wired USB keyboard they had. I plugged it in and tried to bring up the boot menu; it didn’t work a single time. So, my experiment is over for now since I don’t want to get trapped in XP. Hopefully they fix this public beta so that is has an actual boot menu, with a countdown, like every other bootloader . UNEASYsilence has a video of how this install should go. UPDATE: I found an Apple keyboard and now the “alt” key works every time. So with the confidence that I could always bring up the boot menu and return from XP, I proceeded with the XP boot. This time the drivers installed without a hitch. That includes the “startup disk” control panel. It wasn’t installed before which is why I needed reliable “alt” access to the boot menu. I doubt many people will find themselves in my situation, but having an Apple keyboard on hand is a good idea. Now that I’ve got Windows going, anybody have a killer app for what XP can do on Apple hardware that OS X can’t (besides run Windows applications)? Here’s a few that I can think of: Update the firmware of a Windows format iPod (I kept it Windows format so I could read it on any computer), run native Folding@Home cores (no cores for Intel Macs yet only PPC on top of Rosetta), Bluetooth A2DP (OS X doesn’t support stereo Bluetooth headphones). Yes, I posted this from Windows.
45
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[ { "comment_id": "18395", "author": "octobclrnts", "timestamp": "2006-04-06T08:36:49", "content": "I’m not sure if I can help but I have had some expierence with dual booting OSx86 (tiger) and XP (actually vista too). If you put the chainloader “chain0” on the XP partition, and then write a line in ...
1,760,377,933.86854
https://hackaday.com/2006/04/05/mini-sd-and-rs-232-board-for-zipit-wireless-messenger/
Mini-SD And RS-232 Board For Zipit Wireless Messenger
Eliot
[ "Wireless Hacks" ]
[]
Tom Walsh has been hard at work building an add on board for the Zipit Wireless Messenger “IM Device for Teens”. The board adds a mini-SD card slot, RS-232 (using a mini-USB connector) and a power supply for an EL backlight. I’m impressed that he got everything to fit inside of the case, very slick. A year ago we covered putting Linux on these devices . Have any of you readers picked up one and what fun tricks can it do? I looked around and they still cost over $90. I should probably just resurrect my Zaurus and be happy permalink
12
12
[ { "comment_id": "18353", "author": "Tired2", "timestamp": "2006-04-05T18:46:39", "content": "W/ some clever software, and that rs232 interface, you could use it to monitor things via instant message… First thing that comes to my mind is messaging like “myhottub” on aim and saying “temperature”, and ...
1,760,377,933.980106
https://hackaday.com/2006/04/04/the-walking-box/
The Walking Box
Eliot
[ "Robots Hacks" ]
[]
[Ryan Walker] had recently constructed a 16 R/C servo controller board and needed a platform to test it with . He wired 6 cheap TS-53 servos from Tower Hobbies to the bottom of an empty box. He’s got push buttons on the top for direction control. It uses a PIC18F452 for processing and the board was routed on an LPKF circuit board mill. There are videos on his site, but try using these cached links first: walking on a table and walking on carpet . permalink
20
20
[ { "comment_id": "18335", "author": "trebuchet03", "timestamp": "2006-04-04T21:17:22", "content": "goooofy looking :P", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "18336", "author": "Demo", "timestamp": "2006-04-04T22:07:34", "content": "first post...
1,760,377,934.112766
https://hackaday.com/2006/04/03/brain-assailant/
Brain Assailant
Eliot
[ "Portable Audio Hacks" ]
[]
Ugh, I didn’t expect this “sonic nuisance” meme to last past yesterday, but here we are with a different project from [jay]. ThinkGeek sells a device called the Mind Molester that emits a chirp every three minutes making it hard to find but frequent enough to drive you insane. Jay figures ThinkGeek’s markup was somewhere around 1250% and decided to build his own . The device uses a Picaxe microcontroller and emits four different sounds a random intervals. permalink
35
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[ { "comment_id": "18315", "author": "Brandon", "timestamp": "2006-04-03T20:40:06", "content": "First", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "18316", "author": "jodyanthony", "timestamp": "2006-04-03T21:09:02", "content": "wow brandon, you are...
1,760,377,934.396206
https://hackaday.com/2006/04/02/sonic-grenade/
Sonic Grenade
Eliot
[ "Misc Hacks" ]
[]
imakeprojects.com started recently with the promise of delivering one project every two weeks. Yesterday was their second release: sonic grenades ! They picked up a couple 110dB personal alarms at the Dollar Store and modified them. Now instead of going off immediately, there is a 5 second “fuse” indicated by a flashing LED; giving you plenty of time to lob it into your roommates space. After a minute of being active, the grenade will start chirping every 10 seconds until you replace the pin which should help you find it. There’s a video demo at the bottom of the page. [thanks JErome ] permalink
30
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[ { "comment_id": "18282", "author": "Dave", "timestamp": "2006-04-02T20:35:02", "content": "First Post BEEOTCH!!", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "18283", "author": "Dave", "timestamp": "2006-04-02T20:37:43", "content": "First Post BEEO...
1,760,377,934.329781
https://hackaday.com/2006/04/01/hack-a-day-goes-autonomous/
Hack A Day Goes Autonomous
Eliot
[ "News" ]
[ "april fools", "borg", "hackaday", "joke" ]
After declaring our independence last fall, complete site autonomy seemed like the next logical step. Using some clever coding we have developed a system that will let Hack a Day run without any intervention. The first layer in this system is topic selection. All tip line submissions are sent through a series of filters. These look for keywords like “firmware”, “POV”, “microcontroller”, “video”, “linux”, “WRT”, “GPS”, “PCB”, “TLA”. Each submission is given a l33tness ranking based on these words and the best tip is immediately thrown away. The second highest link is then passed through our advanced anti-duping engine that confirms the link hasn’t been posted in the last week. The post text is generated using Markov chains in what top scientists suspect is a miracle. The story is then automatically cut and pasted into Digg without credit. To foster discussion the reader comments are automatically seeded with “first post” and “this is not a hack” on every post. This system is implemented using a large quantity of duct tape (code and literal) on our brand new Linksys WRT54G beowulf cluster. We hope this system serves you well. We’ve been working on an “auto-hacking robot” to generate how-tos as well, but on its test run it instinctively disassembled itself. Related news: Team Hack a Day merges with Team Engadget [ photo credit ]
27
27
[ { "comment_id": "18250", "author": "DanielG", "timestamp": "2006-04-01T23:05:42", "content": "Thank god it’s not april first, ohw wait.:p", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "18251", "author": "Eliot Phillips", "timestamp": "2006-04-01T23:13:...
1,760,377,934.465204
https://hackaday.com/2006/04/01/reversing-extension-tube-for-macro-photography/
Reversing Extension Tube For Macro Photography
Eliot
[ "Misc Hacks" ]
[]
Reversing the lens orientation is common practice in macro photography. To get even more magnification you can increase the distance between the film and lens by using an extension tube or bellows. [Kevin] built this variable length extension tube by modifying a bunch of cheap used filters. When I say “modify” I mean he “broke the glass out with a hammer”. The base of the extension tube is a body cap that has had the center removed. Glued on top of body cap is a filter ring with the male threads pointing forward to act as the reverse lens mount. You can add any number of additional rings to change the length. It’s very important to be thorough when cleaning your filter rings otherwise you might damage your camera internals. permalink
2
2
[ { "comment_id": "18231", "author": "Abbie Gonzalez", "timestamp": "2006-04-01T21:33:28", "content": "Awesome Idea. I am definitely gonna use this.", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "18232", "author": "zip22", "timestamp": "2006-04-01T21:57:...
1,760,377,934.500311
https://hackaday.com/2006/03/31/multicolored-ethernet-controlled-led-lamp/
Multicolored Ethernet Controlled LED Lamp
Eliot
[ "Misc Hacks" ]
[]
[Laurens Tromp] stumbled upon this LED lamp project while looking for a datasheet. The lamp has two heads with 252 LEDs each. The individual heads have equal number of red, blue, green, yellow and white LEDs. At the base of the lamp is a touch pad that has a virtual slider for each individual color’s intensity. The heads can be controlled separately or together. The lamp can also be operated over ethernet since its controller is a RabbitCore RCM2200. The only answer I can’t seem to find in the extensive documentation is how much this milled aluminum monstrosity weighs: 110 pounds . permalink
18
18
[ { "comment_id": "18221", "author": "DAVID", "timestamp": "2006-03-31T20:18:20", "content": "It states the weight on page 5With and all-metal design and a total weight of 50kg,", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "18222", "author": "fucter", "...
1,760,377,934.5511
https://hackaday.com/2006/03/30/novas-the-great-robot-race/
NOVA’s The Great Robot Race
Eliot
[ "Uncategorized" ]
[]
If you didn’t catch NOVA’s coverage of the DARPA Grand Challenge on Tuesday, titled The Great Robot Race , it is now available online in chapter form on the official site . Autoblog has an excellent synopsis . If you want all of the video in one piece, you can find it on Mininova . I’m sure the episode will be replaying on PBS throughout the week.
23
23
[ { "comment_id": "18191", "author": "Alex McCown", "timestamp": "2006-03-31T03:56:39", "content": "yay 1st post", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "18192", "author": "Tired2", "timestamp": "2006-03-31T05:14:21", "content": "^ fu*k the fir...
1,760,377,934.654365
https://hackaday.com/2006/03/30/camera-adapter-for-detecting-melanoma/
Camera Adapter For Detecting Melanoma
Eliot
[ "digital cameras hacks" ]
[]
[MM] has built a simple lighting adapter for analyzing skin lesions . Different layers of the skin absorb different parts of the light spectrum. By shining those particular wave lengths on the skin you can get an image of the lesion in various layers. This camera adapter is designed for a Nikon Coolpix E3100 digital camera. The ring of LEDs contains blue, green, red, and IR. White is included as well for taking normal pictures. A polarized filter is used to cut down on light reflections from the skin surface. The device does have some calibration issues since it was soldered by hand, but the preliminary results look very promising. permalink
15
15
[ { "comment_id": "18189", "author": "Paragraph", "timestamp": "2006-03-30T21:33:19", "content": "Awsome, very rare is it that hacks have a really positive impact on life, usually it’s just something to do for fun (or something along the lines of that) very nice, and as far as i’m aware of, there is n...
1,760,377,934.601357
https://hackaday.com/2006/03/29/cheap-car-stereo/
Cheap Car Stereo
Eliot
[ "Portable Audio Hacks" ]
[]
[Chris Rybitski] didn’t really have any money to spend when the headunit in his car died. He did have a broken JVC CD player from a friend and decided to convert that into something hideous he could use in the car. The amplifier portion still worked, but the CD section didn’t. Unplugging the CD board kept the amp from functioning, so he cut off the bulky motors instead. The internal power for the player was already 12V so he powered it directly from the car. He added an old CDROM drive, made a wired remote for the controls and stuffed everything in an old Mac case. Once completed, he set it under the rear glass for everyone to admire. permalink
61
50
[ { "comment_id": "18172", "author": "Mr. Spork", "timestamp": "2006-03-29T20:48:17", "content": "He needs a voltage regulator since the voltage at a car’s cigarette lighter plug is *not* 12v. It can vary anywhere from 8 to 18v depending on the charge level and engine RPM while running.", "parent_...
1,760,377,934.791189
https://hackaday.com/2006/03/28/computer-controlled-multiple-light-dimmer/
Computer Controlled Multiple Light Dimmer
Eliot
[ "home entertainment hacks" ]
[]
[SeBsZ] built this 16 dimmable lights controller based on his friend Christian N?g’s PC_DIMMER project. The PC_DIMMER project supports up to 128 individual lamps with 255 steps each. The controller boards feature an Atmel ATTiny2313 microcontroller that controls 8 lamps. Sebsz built two boards for his project and has status indicators mounted on the side of the box. Everything is driven by Christian’s free software through a serial connection. SeBsZ warns that this is a 230V@50Hz design and you will need to modify it if you intend to use it in the US. permalink
21
21
[ { "comment_id": "18113", "author": "kevinin", "timestamp": "2006-03-28T22:10:59", "content": "i’ve been looking for something like this for so long … and here it pops up at hackaday :)", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "18114", "author": "preto...
1,760,377,934.711014
https://hackaday.com/2006/03/27/disco-bar-completed/
Disco Bar Completed
Eliot
[ "home entertainment hacks" ]
[ "bar", "disco", "disco bar", "led", "rgb" ]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkqoPkuJaMI] David Worden let us know that he has completed work on his Disco Bar which we covered earlier. To save his bandwidth, I suggest you watch the video on YouTube . permalink
29
29
[ { "comment_id": "18094", "author": "lolersticks", "timestamp": "2006-03-28T03:48:30", "content": "My new hero", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "18093", "author": "Computer_kid", "timestamp": "2006-03-28T04:28:56", "content": "It runs o...
1,760,377,934.937803
https://hackaday.com/2006/03/27/email-on-the-cisco-7960/
Email On The Cisco 7960
Eliot
[ "Misc Hacks" ]
[]
The Cisco Unified IP Phone 7960G is becoming fairly common in corporate environments. The phone has a built in XML browser for navigating menus. [Nick] decided to hack together a PHP application that will let the phone display email messages in a POP3 account . In its current form it works with most text-only messages, but limited filtering means it could fail on some. permalink
8
8
[ { "comment_id": "18062", "author": "Justin P", "timestamp": "2006-03-27T23:54:51", "content": "I was getting conserened. i was looking at 1 (eastern) and nothing for the day.", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "18063", "author": "winphreak", ...
1,760,377,934.880433
https://hackaday.com/2006/03/26/how-to-reverse-time/
How To Reverse Time
Eliot
[ "Cellphone Hacks" ]
[]
[moddy] sent in a couple of his projects that would probably be entertaining on a Sunday afternoon. The first one is how to reverse the rotation of a battery powered travel clock . It’s just a simple modification of the plate the coil is wrapped around. The second is adding 9V battery terminals to a cell phone . Neither project is practical, but they’re still fun. permalink
24
24
[ { "comment_id": "18047", "author": "Billw", "timestamp": "2006-03-27T00:25:42", "content": "Sometimes the most enjoyable hacks are the ones that have no practical application. You just do them because they’re cool and you can!It brings to mind a crazy topic started at the camerahacking.com site abou...
1,760,377,935.25041
https://hackaday.com/2006/03/25/100-hot-water-bottle-pendulum-rebreather/
$100 Hot Water Bottle Pendulum Rebreather
Eliot
[ "Misc Hacks" ]
[]
Humans exhale a lot of oxygen along with their waste carbon dioxide. Instead of throwing out this oxygen, a rebreather uses a scrubber to remove the CO2 and replace it with pure oxygen from a bottle. Tom Rose built this rebreather for $100 . When you exhale air passes through the scrubbing material and is stored in hot water bottle counterlung until you inhale. The system is only 15 pounds; a great savings compared to most dive equipment. You are definitely putting your life in your own hands so this should not be used without plenty of “couch-diving” tests. Tom has a ton of other diving related projects on his site. [via Divester ] permalink
23
22
[ { "comment_id": "18018", "author": "the dentist", "timestamp": "2006-03-25T19:56:52", "content": "FIRST POST!dude this is amazing", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [ { "comment_id": "3149815", "author": "Paul", "timestamp": "2016-08-23T23:11:34", ...
1,760,377,935.188895
https://hackaday.com/2006/03/24/uv-box-for-pcb-exposure/
UV Box For PCB Exposure
Eliot
[ "Misc Hacks" ]
[]
Hack-A-Day reader [Mindaugasu] built this box for exposing copper boards to ultraviolet light before etching them. It has two banks of four 20W UV lamps. The box is lined with reflective foil. The banks can be controlled separately and the exposure time is set by an Atmel AT90. You can change the time using button panel and LCD. He’s got some example boards in his ARM development section. permalink
16
16
[ { "comment_id": "18013", "author": "Lewis", "timestamp": "2006-03-24T23:27:47", "content": "We have one of these at school and its pretty similar to this one, nice build…", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "18014", "author": "Alex", "timesta...
1,760,377,935.127438
https://hackaday.com/2006/03/23/commercial-grade-tig-welder/
Commercial-grade TIG Welder
Eliot
[ "Misc Hacks" ]
[]
I use the qualifier “commercial-grade” here because this TIG welder project goes far beyond our junkyard TIG welder . The welder has a 180 amp capacity and has most (if not all) of the features of a modern welder. Instead of using a microprocessor, Dave Barrett decided to use discrete TTL and CMOS logic. That decision should make the design a lot easier to troubleshoot. Schematics and board layouts are on his site. [UPDATE: I forgot to thank demmion for the tip] permalink
7
7
[ { "comment_id": "17996", "author": "G", "timestamp": "2006-03-23T22:25:42", "content": "another cool project this guy links to is the Oscilloscope built inside a gameboy cartridge:http://www.ranchbots.com/GBDSO/gbdso.htm", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "commen...
1,760,377,935.28841
https://hackaday.com/2006/03/22/scrambled-hackz/
SCrAmBlEd? HaCkZ!
Eliot
[ "Uncategorized" ]
[]
This story as appeared many different places [via Music thing ], but I wanted to make sure you guys didn’t miss out on the fun. sCrAmBlEd? HaCkZ! by Sven K? is an amazing piece of video remixing software. It’s built using C++, Python and PureData. It takes music videos, chops them up by beats and indexes the samples by sound signature in a database. You then beatbox into a microphone to describe the music you want to hear. The software builds the music you want out of the sample database. Sven has put together an excellent video that describes the program and has example performances. It’s a must watch. Get it either directly from his site or watch it on YouTube . permalink
29
29
[ { "comment_id": "17988", "author": "Computer_kid", "timestamp": "2006-03-23T03:22:29", "content": "If the data base is lage enough, coud it be used as a michel Jackson Speach synth? :-)", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "17989", "author": "herr...
1,760,377,935.52101
https://hackaday.com/2006/03/22/laser-listening-device/
Laser Listening Device
Eliot
[ "Laser Hacks", "Misc Hacks" ]
[]
Laser based listening devices work by bouncing the beam off of a window. Sounds in the room cause minute vibrations in the window. These vibrations modulate the laser beam. The laser beam is then converted back into sound at the receiver. Hack-A-Day reader [Aaron v] decided to build one of these devices . It worked, but needs some improvement. He followed plans found here ( Coral CDN cache ). I’ve also got a local copy of the receiver schematic since there doesn’t seem to be too many of these projects with decent hosting. Williamson Labs has a good discussion of the problems these systems can run into and more advanced setups like interferometry. permalink
23
21
[ { "comment_id": "17962", "author": "nyeark", "timestamp": "2006-03-22T23:07:18", "content": "sounds like splinter cell to me…", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "17963", "author": "morcheeba", "timestamp": "2006-03-22T23:47:39", "content...
1,760,377,935.455349
https://hackaday.com/2006/03/21/shacktopus-the-next-step-in-technomadics/
Shacktopus, The Next Step In Technomadics
Eliot
[ "Wireless Hacks" ]
[]
Steve Roberts has been doing technomadics since 1983. You’ll probably remember him from his 580-pound BEHEMOTH bicycle which he was checking his email on in 1991 over satellite. Shacktopus is his latest project. His previous vehicles all had heavily integrated systems, but because of that you couldn’t just grab the communication system and run. Shacktopus is an easy to pack communications platform that contains multiple RF and sensing technology into one device. HF, VHF, UHF, Bluetooth, WiFi, cellular communication are all there plus GPS and environmental sensors. Here’s a block diagram of the device . Now, no matter what vehicle you choose to head off into the wild with you’ll be able to communicate with the rest of the world using one device. [thanks fbz ] [UPDATE: fixed name] permalink
2
2
[ { "comment_id": "17945", "author": "knight_308", "timestamp": "2006-03-21T19:27:13", "content": "It’s Steve /Roberts/…Mr. Roberts’ site,http://www.microship.comis well worth perusing. Lots of articles about some hard-core hacking back when people actually used computers from Radio Shack… =)", "...
1,760,377,935.651236
https://hackaday.com/2006/03/20/tiny-wireless-motion-sensor/
Tiny Wireless Motion Sensor
Eliot
[ "Wireless Hacks" ]
[]
[Nate True] states several times that there isn’t any good use for this project, but his wireless motion sensor is still fun. The transmitter features a passive infrared motion sensor. It sends the output over the 433MHz band to the receiver module. The receiver has a small piezo that plays sounds based on the PIR’s output. His project is featured The Bleeding Edge 006 . permalink
11
11
[ { "comment_id": "17942", "author": "Jeff", "timestamp": "2006-03-20T20:36:24", "content": "No good use? I can think of many, Hope I can constuct this hack myself. Anyone willing to make some and sell to me?", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "1794...
1,760,377,935.565503
https://hackaday.com/2006/03/19/codys-robot-optical-motion-sensor/
Cody’s Robot Optical Motion Sensor
Eliot
[ "Robots Hacks" ]
[]
[Mac Cody] has continued working on his original optical mouse hack . In the time since we first posted the story, he has repackaged the mouse’s sensor so that it can be used with any robotic platform . He built a custom board for the sensor and modified a lens package so that the sensor plane doesn’t have to be in contact with the ground. His work is based on a NASA paper Insect-inspired Optical-Flow Navigation Sensors . Mac’s sensor seems to be progressing nicely towards his goal of dead reckoning navigation, but he thinks it could do better if the LED illumination was more focused. permalink
13
13
[ { "comment_id": "17932", "author": "jeff", "timestamp": "2006-03-19T22:02:05", "content": "if you need it more focused have the light go through a small conelike structure. im no electronics genius but i do know if you use mirrors you can concentrate light better. good luck with your project", "...
1,760,377,935.615795
https://hackaday.com/2006/03/18/xbox-360-firmware-hack/
Xbox 360 Firmware Hack
Eliot
[ "Xbox Hacks" ]
[]
It looks like backup copies of games can now be booted on the Xbox 360 . Maxconsole has the video . This hack is similar to the final firmware hack of the original Xbox . The response to the challenge code is written directly in the firmware. So instead of checking the disc, the firmware responds to the challenge directly. Here are the technical details . This hack doesn’t allow you to run unsigned code or ignore region codes. All it lets you do is play direct one-to-one copies of game discs. Related: Xbox 360 Hacks , Xbox Hacks permalink
31
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[ { "comment_id": "17918", "author": "darksim", "timestamp": "2006-03-18T21:48:06", "content": "Isn’t this relatively old? I’ve seen various videos like this already :-", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "17919", "author": "paul", "timestamp":...
1,760,377,935.717373
https://hackaday.com/2006/03/17/network-attached-mp3-streamer/
Network Attached MP3 Streamer
Eliot
[ "Misc Hacks" ]
[]
MP3elf is a network attached MP3 player. It can stream MP3s from your hard drive or connect to internet radio stations. The design is BSD licenced so you can download all of the plans and build it yourself if you want. They’ve got kits available as well. The server portion is written in Java so it should run on your operating system of choice. [thanks Default] permalink
12
12
[ { "comment_id": "17892", "author": "don", "timestamp": "2006-03-17T20:18:20", "content": "Very cool- I’ve been looking for a small mp3 player (a la the slimp3) but without the damned display. I don’t use it so why should I pay for it? That said $110 for the kit plus LCD plus TINI modules puts you in...
1,760,377,935.767486
https://hackaday.com/2006/03/11/macro-photography-with-a-disposable-camera/
Macro Photography With A Disposable Camera
Eliot
[ "Misc Hacks" ]
[]
[Greg Lipscomb] from DIY Live gave us the heads up on his latest project: Macro photography with a disposable camera . While playing around with the Kodak Max outdoor camera he discovered that the lens was behaving similar to a jewellers loupe that he had. He figured that it could probably take macro shots with some tweaking. He disassembled the camera and then drilled a larger aperture since F11 would have been too small. Then he attached the assembly to the lens from his Canon 10D and fired away. He’s got example pictures on his site; they’re pretty good for something held together by scotch tape. permalink
7
7
[ { "comment_id": "17770", "author": "Billw", "timestamp": "2006-03-11T20:04:19", "content": "neat mod, though you can get better results with a $10 CVS still camera by breaking the small amount of loctite on the lens barrel and focusing the stock lens.here’s the howto:http://camerahacks.10.forumer.co...
1,760,377,935.92407
https://hackaday.com/2006/03/10/1-wire-wireless-router/
1-Wire Wireless Router
Eliot
[ "Wireless Hacks" ]
[]
1-Wire is a low speed communications bus. OWFS is the 1-wire filesystem for Linux. Combine the two with a WRT54G and you’ve got a cheap wired/wireless network enabled data collection platform. 1-Wire devices are really low cost, only need one wire plus ground, are bus powered, and can even be wired in a branching pattern instead of a normal straight run. OWFS lets you check the status of the devices like they were parts of your filesystem (it’s built on FUSE ). So, you can do really easy data collection just by writing some file management scripts. permalink
7
7
[ { "comment_id": "17762", "author": "quadrantsix", "timestamp": "2006-03-10T19:29:07", "content": "interesting, i’d like to see some case studies for 1wire.", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "17761", "author": "Jason Gill", "timestamp": "200...
1,760,377,935.824927
https://hackaday.com/2006/03/09/irongeeks-wall-of-social-science-majors/
Irongeek’s Wall Of Social Science Majors
Eliot
[ "downloads hacks" ]
[]
If you’ve ever read a story about Defcon, the lede probably had something to do with The Wall of Sheep, the giant pojection of every plaintext username and password crossing the network. You may have even seen one of your favorite sites fall victim to it. One of my favorite people, Irongeek, decided to whip up a little PHP script so that anybody could set up their own Wall of Sheep style system. The backend is powered by the near-magical Ettercap and the script just parses the output into an easy to read format. I think this would be a great warning sign to place on your hotspot’s splash page. [via PaulDotCom ] permalink
21
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[ { "comment_id": "17756", "author": "dualdflipflop", "timestamp": "2006-03-09T21:13:21", "content": "Wow, it was a week or two ago when Irongeek posted that around. It’s not too bad. Loads of fun when you have a projector at a coffee shop!", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] ...
1,760,377,935.881518
https://hackaday.com/2006/03/09/hack-media-podcasts/
Hack Media: Podcasts
Eliot
[ "Uncategorized" ]
[]
This is coming in a day later than usual; I got my new dual-core Mac mini on Monday and built a new iTunes Library on my NFS server. I then crashed it twice which turned into literal fsck ing nightmare. So I finally got it back up last night and started listening to my backlog of podcasts (which has grown enormously now that I can subscribe to them so easily). Highlights from the shows after the jump. A big Thank you to everyone who has stopped by my Facebook profile to wish me a Happy Birthday today. I’m 25, my NFS server is running rock-solid, so is my new mini, and I got an official job offer in the mail, so today has been treating me really well. Happy birthday to my twin sister Adele, even though the international date line means I already missed it. Security Now! 29 Ethernet Insecurity 52:14 covers how ARP works and why it is so insecure. This is something that everyone should know, but it may be easier to understand if you read Steve Gibson’s accompanying article . He mentions in the podcast an old story about a security researcher’s comments that a lot of hotels still use hubs instead of switches; I found the story on Schneier. I think Irongeek’s article was my first introduction to the subject of ARP spoofing. BellCoreRadio 24 45:35 Not much here, but the running joke is pretty funny: Phoneswarm posts an interesting payphone number each week. Last week’s was 310-394-9052, a payphone on the Santa Monica pier that just happens to be visible on this webcam . The first time PonyBoy got someone on the phone it was a group of geocachers that needed their photo take by the cam. PaulDotCom Security Weekly 17 59:56 My favorite quote: “… to show the guys how they can use CORE IMPACT to test an IDS” “Aww, sweet!” They mention the “ startkeylogger ” IRC DOS attack. They’ve got a post rounding up security podcasts as well. CyberSpeak Mar 4 51:46 This week they talk to Dave Merkel from MANDIANT about their First Response tool that is currently a free download. Live Ammo Digital Forensics and Hacking Investigations, Part 4 36:15 More hardware/software tools and ARP. Blue Box #18 35:57 Covering SPIT, SPam over Internet Telephony. TWAT 74 BitViper WRT Hacking 36:39 I listened to all of the podcasts that came from TWAT radio this week, but this was by far my favorite. If you’ve got a Linksys WRT54G and don’t know where to start, BitViper and PowerStick do a kick ass job covering all of the ins and outs of the device and the multiple firmwares available. Even if you are well informed about the WRT, you will probably enjoy their personal story about doing a long run with multiple WRTs and some clever hardware hacking: start at 27:00. Great job guys! In the Trenches 1:00:48 I think the idea of the test crashing during an MCSE exam is hilarious. They’ve also got a funny story about using a $600 Cisco router in the home. It ended up giving them 8Mbps instead of the regular 2Mbps from the Linksys WRT. If you are interested in Weblogs, Inc. or just where this company came from you should check out the interview with my boss … or at least follow the link to see whose t-shirt he’s wearing. …and if you’re following Catty Girls Discuss you’d hear Brigitte’s plans to buy an inflatable boat .
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[ { "comment_id": "17734", "author": "gouki", "timestamp": "2006-03-10T03:38:03", "content": "Didn’t noticed it was your bday eliot. Congrats buddy!", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "17735", "author": "furtim", "timestamp": "2006-03-10T04:18...
1,760,377,936.315188
https://hackaday.com/2006/03/08/qtopia-on-the-gp2x/
Qtopia On The GP2X
Eliot
[ "handhelds hacks" ]
[]
Trolltech’s Qtopia is the application platform/user interface of choice of Linux handheld device manufacturers. It doesn’t matter if it’s a phone, PDA, or single application device. Hacker NK has successfully ported the GUI to the GP2X . With USB host mode ,he’s been able to surf the web with Opera while using a full keyboard, mouse and WiFi adapter. The Sharp Zaurus PDA uses Qtopia with an ARM processor too and users have reported success pulling applications from the Zaurus software repository and running them on the GP2X. Here are some photos of the action one and two . UPDATE: Commenters say that the GP2X forums have a Windows trojan. I think you’ll be fine if turn off Java. [thanks omarnawaz] permalink
23
23
[ { "comment_id": "17716", "author": "torpor", "timestamp": "2006-03-08T19:30:18", "content": "the gp32x.com boards have been infected with a Windows trojan, so beware all you Microsofties ..But if you use a real operating system, you won’t have any problems .. and can also discover the wiiiiiiide wor...
1,760,377,936.188783
https://hackaday.com/2006/03/07/pentium-m-overclocking/
Pentium M Overclocking
Eliot
[ "computer hacks" ]
[]
Laptops based on the Intel 915 chipset have a 533MHz front side bus and ship with a matching Sonoma processor. Dothan laptops only have a 400MHz FSB. If you pull the BSEL[0] pin on a 400MHz FSB Dothan CPU to low you can trick the 915 into thinking it has a 533MHz FSB CPU. This will gain you 33% more processor speed. Almost every other pin on the CPU is a ground so you just insert a U-shaped piece of wire into the processor socket to connect the two pins. If the system becomes unstable you may have to bump up the processor voltage (which involves another piece of wire). In the article, Dan Zhang is able to take a 1.8GHz Pentium M to 2.4GHz . It’s a pretty simple mod, but you have to go out of your way to do it since Sonoma laptops never shipped with a 400MHz FSB CPU. [thanks jodathmorr] permalink
24
24
[ { "comment_id": "17692", "author": "strider_mt2k", "timestamp": "2006-03-07T19:45:38", "content": "To someone with one of these machines and a need for just a little more go power this is an incredible break!Nice work!", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_...
1,760,377,938.149069
https://hackaday.com/2006/03/06/canon-pixma-cd-printing/
Canon PIXMA CD Printing
Eliot
[ "Misc Hacks" ]
[]
Canon’s first consumer printer capable of printing directly on CDs was released in 2003. Unfortunately for anyone in the US, this feature wasn’t included. Canon just put a plate over the CD tray slot. A community has sprung up to assist people in activating this feature. You need to remove the cover first. Then you can install the CD tray which you either purchased or constructed following their plans. The final step is to set a registry key so that the CD printing menu appears. [via Digg ] permalink
19
19
[ { "comment_id": "17671", "author": "carpespasm", "timestamp": "2006-03-06T20:17:00", "content": "what the heck do they do things like this? it’s 3c of plastic and a flipping a bit in the software to enable such a thing. why would you want to hobble your own machines? explain this concept to me someo...
1,760,377,937.984918
https://hackaday.com/2006/03/16/disposable-camera-flash-slave/
Disposable Camera Flash Slave
Eliot
[ "digital cameras hacks" ]
[]
[Greg Lipscomb] was working on this disposable camera based slave flash when he stumbled into his macro photography project . Slave flashes are used as fill lighting and can be triggered by several different methods. Greg’s project uses a photocell and a microcontroller for trigger and timing. It also makes sure the flash stays charged. He concedes that this design is a bit complicated, but he went with it because he didn’t have any silicon controlled rectifiers available. The microcontroller would be too slow, but his Canon 10D uses a pre-flash before the actual photo, so the slave has a built in delay from that first flash. permalink
5
5
[ { "comment_id": "17876", "author": "Nick Bennett", "timestamp": "2006-03-16T18:30:36", "content": "I’m really curious to see the quality of the flash fill lighting. Wouldn’t you know it, as soon as I drop $500 on a D50 body I start thinking about dropping more on remote flashes and all that jazz. Ma...
1,760,377,938.187517
https://hackaday.com/2006/03/16/xp-booting-on-intel-macs-game-over/
XP Booting On Intel Macs – Game Over
Eliot
[ "Uncategorized" ]
[]
The WinXPonMac contest has officially announced “narf2006” and “blanka” as the winners. The solution should be released soon. With this new development the only reason not to run XP on a Mac is that XP sucks… which is a pretty good reason. [via TUAW ] permalink
40
40
[ { "comment_id": "17859", "author": "ex-parrot", "timestamp": "2006-03-16T13:04:20", "content": "ze forum appears to have just gone down, so I can’t read how the hack was accomplished. very exciting though.", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "17860",...
1,760,377,938.514526
https://hackaday.com/2006/03/15/damonvs-wind-turbine/
Damonv’s Wind Turbine
Eliot
[ "Misc Hacks" ]
[]
Super Soda! has been posting a lot of projects, but this is one of my favorites. We covered otherpower’s wind turbine a while ago, but Damon Vander Lind’s turbine features hand-laid fiberglass blades. The core of each blade is hot wire cut out of pink foam by following a wooden airfoil pattern. The fiberglass is laid all at once with five layers at the base and two at the tip. Each layer is slightly offset to handle torque. The entire assembly is mounted to a permanent magnet generator contained inside an alternator case. [thanks Ryan Bavetta] permalink
7
7
[ { "comment_id": "17836", "author": "Warrick", "timestamp": "2006-03-16T01:12:58", "content": "BUt how much power does it produce? What does he power with this DIY Turbine?", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "17837", "author": "damon vanderlind",...
1,760,377,938.029483
https://hackaday.com/2006/03/14/how-to-real-controls-for-rc-flight-simulation/
How-To: Real Controls For R/C Flight Simulation
Eliot
[ "Peripherals Hacks" ]
[]
I’m sure many of you remember me recruiting a new writer to work with me on how-tos for Engadget. Will O’Brien was one of the many who answered the call and has been cranking out quality projects. Today’s is modifying a standard R/C transmitter for use as a computer joystick . This “trainer” can be used with flight simulation software so you can practice flying without risking your plane. This is the first step in a future project. Check out Will’s previous posts: Surface mount soldering iron , Popcorn popper coffee roaster , and Scaling video for better HDTV viewing . permalink
7
7
[ { "comment_id": "17828", "author": "Bobby", "timestamp": "2006-03-15T01:27:00", "content": "I know for a fact they have commerical products that can do this. All you need is a compatiable RC controller and a standerd cable for your remote. Look on the back of most professional remotes, there is some...
1,760,377,938.434484
https://hackaday.com/2006/03/13/vw-cd-audio-interface-adatpter/
VW CD Audio Interface Adatpter
Eliot
[ "Portable Audio Hacks" ]
[]
I had been meaning to post K9spud’s VWCDPIC audio interface adapter ever since our first auxiliary input hack… and today I finally remembered to. It really is one of the best out there. Normally the the Volkswagen OEM head unit has the CD changer channels muted unless you’ve got a factory changer. The VWCDPIC interfaces with the already present CD changer plug and fools the head unit to connect any audio device you want. It also provides remote control of your audio device using the head units buttons. It’s very clever and can work with any audio device. permalink
13
13
[ { "comment_id": "17817", "author": "colin brown", "timestamp": "2006-03-13T20:10:42", "content": "Exactly what I’ve been looking for. Once again hackaday reads my mind and saves me a few quid. What’s more, it’s compatible with my Seat Ibiza’s radio. Excellent!", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1...
1,760,377,938.082612
https://hackaday.com/2006/03/13/swimming-snake-robot/
Swimming Snake Robot
Eliot
[ "Uncategorized" ]
[]
Snake robots are already freaking creepy; so who had bright idea to make sea serpents?! You can find a few details on the ACM-R5 at TechEBlog . It can swim 30 minutes on a charge. So, the impending revolution will either be short lived or our destruction will be incredibly swift. [thanks William ] permalink
32
32
[ { "comment_id": "17810", "author": "memodude", "timestamp": "2006-03-13T09:19:09", "content": "This isn’t a hack.", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "17811", "author": "hunter", "timestamp": "2006-03-13T09:28:45", "content": "no, but it ...
1,760,377,938.586448
https://hackaday.com/2006/03/12/build-an-rf-connected-project/
Build An RF Connected Project
Eliot
[ "Wireless Hacks" ]
[]
[Refik Hadzialic] has updated is site with a how-to that could be rolled into many different projects. Using a receiver and transmitter pair from Laipac he demonstrates how to communicate wirelessly between two microcontrollers . The pair costs about $12 and operates at 315MHz. He’s got a chunk of commented code in the article to give you an idea of how it works. permalink
10
10
[ { "comment_id": "17780", "author": "powerworks", "timestamp": "2006-03-12T21:40:32", "content": "I was just thinking about something similar a few days ago…", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "17779", "author": "Steve", "timestamp": "2006-03...
1,760,377,938.391411
https://hackaday.com/2006/03/05/xbox-360-hard-drive-adapter/
Xbox 360 Hard Drive Adapter
Eliot
[ "Xbox Hacks" ]
[]
The official Xbox 360 hard drive connector combines a SATA connector and a power connector into one plug. Even though it is proprietary, some clever hackers have found a really easy way to interface with it . Since it is slot based you can just etch contact pads onto a circuit board and plug it in. The hard drive inside uses standard connectors, but this adapter will keep you from opening the case, voiding your warranty. It will also be much quicker to use daily. You can use Xplorer360 to get full read/write access to the drive. They’re selling the adapter in kit form for $17 and assembled for $20, but the high res pics show how easy this is if you just want to build it yourself. [via xbox-scene ] Related: Xbox 360 Hacks , Xbox Hacks permalink
25
25
[ { "comment_id": "17652", "author": "What", "timestamp": "2006-03-05T08:54:30", "content": "that is awesome, i will have to try that when i get mine.", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "17651", "author": "TVarmy", "timestamp": "2006-03-05T15:...
1,760,377,938.346265
https://hackaday.com/2006/03/04/controlling-a-cheap-color-lcd/
Controlling A Cheap Color LCD
Eliot
[ "Misc Hacks" ]
[]
Spark Fun Electronics has made a name for themselves recently by selling interesting parts like this $20 color LCD . Hack-A-Day reader [Refik Hadzialic] decided to buy one and see how easy it was to use . It is a 128×128 display and should be a clone of the one you would fine in a Nokia 6100. He wired it up to an ATMega32L-PI8 microcontroller. He grabbed source code from a couple different places and eventually got something to work. In the end, the actual control commands seem pretty simple. Refik has been posting a lot of quick projects and info on his site, e-dsp . Have a look. permalink
9
9
[ { "comment_id": "17636", "author": "steve", "timestamp": "2006-03-05T00:08:57", "content": "Very similar, with video and all in a box.http://www.dontronics.com/micro-lcd.html", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "17635", "author": "Nes", "time...
1,760,377,938.923128
https://hackaday.com/2006/03/04/lego-announces-nxt-beta-testers-officially/
LEGO Announces NXT Beta Testers… Officially
Eliot
[ "Uncategorized" ]
[]
Yesterday LEGO announced that they had picked their 100 beta testers . They represent a broad cross section of blah, blah, blah. I’m not sure if I should be annoyed that I didn’t get picked or feel sorry for our buddy Jason Striegel who seems to be the only person that was officially denied . Oh well, time to go spend this extra $150 on Mega Bloks. [via the excellent Nextbrick ] permalink
15
15
[ { "comment_id": "17627", "author": "br0", "timestamp": "2006-03-05T05:27:05", "content": "okay, what the fuck? Hack a day DOESNT need to be giving newsclippings. I can go to any other site for that.", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "17625", "a...
1,760,377,939.195534
https://hackaday.com/2006/03/03/exhaust-flame-throwers/
Exhaust Flame Throwers
Eliot
[ "Transportation Hacks" ]
[]
Here’s a hack that’s been around since the very start of the hot rod movement. Car exhaust flame throwers work by interrupting the spark to the engine. This dumps raw fuel into the exhaust system. The fuel is ignited by a coil and spark plug placed right before the exhaust tip. Doing this will shorten the life of your engine (and pedestrians). The raw fuel strips the oil off the cylinder walls and contaminates the oil causing more wear and tear. Also, this mod can’t be used on a fuel injected car. It would foul the O2 sensors and catalytic converter. Never the less, our fascination with electricity will live on. [thanks matticus66] permalink
50
49
[ { "comment_id": "17606", "author": "mike", "timestamp": "2006-03-03T19:24:41", "content": "Yeah, a friend did this using a 510cc injector off the fuel return line i beleive, he controled the injector and sparkplug with some switched in the car. He controlled the pulse width to the injector with som...
1,760,377,939.026027
https://hackaday.com/2006/03/02/replacing-motherboard-chips/
Replacing Motherboard Chips
Eliot
[ "computer hacks" ]
[]
While most users aren’t going to attempt to replace a single failed chip on a motherboard, [joeboy] felt that it’s definitely something the Hack-A-Day audience would try. Project Oxcart details the process he and his coworkers went through to replace the Firewire chip in a laptop. It had failed during a power surge and Dell wanted $1100 for a replacement motherboard. They opted to buy the $5 chip from Digikey and install it. The write up details the many steps involved in the replacement of the chip, which took the entire day. permalink
29
28
[ { "comment_id": "17578", "author": "greybeard", "timestamp": "2006-03-02T19:15:45", "content": "Damn brutal to desolder an SMD one pin at a time… I’d try it with chipquick, but this way? No.", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "17579", "author": ...
1,760,377,939.144396
https://hackaday.com/2006/03/02/fedex-kinkos-smart-cards-hacked/
Fedex Kinko’s Smart Cards Hacked
Eliot
[ "Uncategorized" ]
[]
Researchers at Secure Science Corporation have managed to break the ExpressPay system used at FedEx Kinko’s stores which is provided by enTrac. The cards are write protected using a 3 byte security code. You can sniff this data using a logic analyzer and then use the code to write any data you want to the card since it is unencrypted. The security code is the same across all cards. FedEx Kinko’s stated that the article is inaccurate, so Lance James and Strom Carlson made a video of themselves doing the hack in the store : They put $1.00 on a card at the kiosk and then use it to log into a computer and show the balance of $1.00. They logout and use a separate laptop and card reader/writer to change the balance to $50.00 and modify the serial number. Next they use the card to log back into a computer and show the balance of $50.00. They let one minute pass so that $0.20 is charge to the card. Finally they logout and use the self-service kiosk to print out a receipt showing their balance of $49.80 with the fake serial number. At this point the attacker can take the card to the service counter and ask for the balance in cash. [thanks Sith from Midnight Research Labs ] [fix: I had originally stated they bought a new card at the kiosk] [photo: caribb ] permalink
67
50
[ { "comment_id": "17551", "author": "dualdflipflop", "timestamp": "2006-03-02T23:31:53", "content": "This was a bunch of fun doing this at Kinkos with Strom! It’s actually a very easy concept once you see it done.Like Mitch Hedberg said:Kinko’s is my favorite copy place ’cause it’s open 24 hours. Lik...
1,760,377,939.288393
https://hackaday.com/2006/03/01/ir-audio-bridge/
IR Audio Bridge
Eliot
[ "home entertainment hacks" ]
[]
Reader [ Chris Rybitski ] had a pair of RCA IR headphones laying around from the Radiohut. He’d never really used them and decided they would be much better suited as a wireless audio bridge between his computer and stereo. Since it was going to be a permanent installation his first task was to find a wall wart to power the receiving end. He then reboxed the receiver in an old laptop battery case with the IR LEDs from each ear and an output jack for his stereo. Not to complex, but I’m sure the system works a lot better now that it is in a fixed position instead of strapped to someone’s head. permalink
11
11
[ { "comment_id": "17491", "author": "Joakim Arfvidsson", "timestamp": "2006-03-01T19:45:36", "content": "What about sound quality? The degradation is at best negligible, but might be considerable. If I were to hook up something permanent, I would definitely not go with anything that requires line of ...
1,760,377,939.076971
https://hackaday.com/2006/03/01/hack-media-security-podcasts/
Hack Media: Security Podcasts
Eliot
[ "Uncategorized" ]
[]
Here are some security podcasts from the last week. Feel free to suggest additional ones. There is never a shortage of podcasts on the internet, about the internet. Security Catalyst 19 The Secrets of Risk Management (With Ron Woerner) 25:33 SC was suggested last week by sometimes co-host [ matt yoder ]. It’s a nice interview with Woerner about his experience implementing a risk management program at a large company. I was happy to hear about several upcoming security conventions in Omaha (i.e. ones I don’t have to fly to). Michael Santarcangelo does a great job hosting too. Security Now! #28 Listener Feedback Q&A #4 40:24 [sentinel] corrected me last week; the ARP spoofing show is next week. This episode does maintain some interest because it is structured by listener questions. Leo mentions that he might make his OPML file public since he tracks about 50 sites. I was thinking about doing this. I’ve currently got about 160 sites in Bloglines (I trim the fat from time to time). It’s certainly no comparison to the 500+ monster that the Engadget writers maintain. PaulDotCom Security Weekly – Episode 16 51:18 was suggested by co-host [Larry Pesce]. This is a pretty fun group podcast. They mentioned a favorite quote by Geer at ShmooCon, “We need security because at any moment the bad guys are only 150ms away; just ping China”. They also pointed out that there is a GPL version of the Spinning Cube of Potential Doom . CyberSpeak Feb 25 72:08 Lots of interesting stuff coming from the feds. It starts with Mike Younger discussing some of the problems in validating email since Outlook and Lotus Notes both let you edit messages you’ve already received and ones you’ve already sent. They point out a nice deny hosts script to prevent brute force dictionary attacks . Check the entry’s comments for other solutions. They also mentioned that you should check for firmware updates for your firewire write-blocking devices if you want to read the HPA of a drive. The LiveAmmo podcast from last week specifically stated that you should avoid USB and Firewire write-block devices because they might not be able to access HPA. LiveAmmo: Digital Forensics and Hacking Investigations, Part 3 46:12 is not nearly as dry as it was the previous weeks. It covers the data collection process and what sort of slip-ups might happen. They suggest reading NIST Special Publication 800-61: Computer Security Incident Handling Guide . SploitCast #007 44:01 As promised last week, this is an interview with Lance James. This is my favorite podcast of the bunch this week. Lance covers many of the techniques that phishers are using. They’ve been going so far as do distributed hosting of their phishing websites on 0wned computers. Lance also talks about the server-side tools he has been developing to fight malware. The burden is being placed on the server since you can’t expect the users to keep themselves safe. Blue Box #17 41:00 Another week, another excellent VoIP security podcast. I promised my friends Cara and Brigitte that I would promote their podcast “ Catty Girls Discuss ” hosted by the local paper. I hadn’t heard it at that point, but the title kinda gives it away. Here are the highlights from the first show: 10:00 they realize they’ve run out of topics, 15:00 they realize they’ve run out of topics, 20:00 they realize they’ve run out of topics. No, it’s not really that bad and can be pretty funny. Direct links to episode one and two .
3
3
[ { "comment_id": "17480", "author": "mehere", "timestamp": "2006-03-02T14:40:24", "content": "there’s loads more at:http://www.irongeek.com/i.php?page=security/hackingillustrated", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "17481", "author": "Dirtnap", ...
1,760,377,939.513223
https://hackaday.com/2006/02/28/tick-destroying-rover/
Tick Destroying Rover
Eliot
[ "Robots Hacks" ]
[]
[William] from GoRobotics.net sent along this tip about a tick destroying rover built by students at VMI. The truck uses inductive sensors to follow a wire laid around the perimeter of the lawn. By releasing CO2 along this strip of grass they can attract ticks into the area (animals expel CO2). The ticks collected are treated with Permethrin. Since the application is targeted, it is far safer and cheaper than spraying the entire lawn. The students also suggest that repeating the run over the course of three months would break the tick’s life cycle, making the area tick free for several years. Here’s Wolfgang’s write-up , test runs with video one and two , the associated paper , and the Wired article . permalink
17
17
[ { "comment_id": "17478", "author": "injulen", "timestamp": "2006-02-28T19:38:21", "content": "Cool! We have a serious tick problem here, this would be awesome to have.", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "17479", "author": "strider_mt2k", "ti...
1,760,377,939.339172
https://hackaday.com/2006/02/27/pc-to-rc-interface/
PC-to-R/C Interface
Eliot
[ "Misc Hacks" ]
[]
Risto K?’s PC to R/C interface let’s you connect to your Futaba radio transmitter. You can use this device to do direct control of your R/C project: prewritten trajectories, user called macros, or direct PC joystick control. He’s built two versions. The original one used multiple D-latches. The second version was an attempt to reduce the number of components. It uses interrupts in the microcontroller software instead of the latches. This would normally cause a lot of jitter, but Risto implemented the interrupts in assembly. The controller can handle up to 16 channels. The LCD displays the last pulse-width and channel. [thanks Will ] permalink
18
18
[ { "comment_id": "17462", "author": "pzyke 0'g3n", "timestamp": "2006-02-27T19:22:02", "content": "Great! just what i was looking for…hope it works as good as it looks.", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "17460", "author": "jason", "timestamp...
1,760,377,939.395172
https://hackaday.com/2006/02/27/fon-arrival/
FON Arrival
Eliot
[ "Uncategorized" ]
[]
Just a quick note: I received my FON router today. It’s a brand new Linksys WRT54GL with DD-WRT installed. With shipping it only cost $33. If you want a WRT that is guaranteed to run Linux, this price can’t be beat (if you’re in the first 3000). P.S. I also received a big order from Jameco. Their “100 asst. sockets” doesn’t seem to have a single straight pin in it.
28
28
[ { "comment_id": "17444", "author": "billytheimpaler", "timestamp": "2006-02-28T00:55:06", "content": "So what is the final verdict on hacking these/using them personally? I got my you-can-order-now email a while back but I find it tough to bite if it means that the Fon kids would hold me liable for...
1,760,377,939.475788
https://hackaday.com/2006/02/26/rundfunker-wifi-mp3-streaming-radio/
Rundfunker – WiFi, MP3 Streaming Radio
Eliot
[ "Portable Audio Hacks" ]
[]
I think the first time I saw the “ Rundfunker ” I had ignored it because I though it was a commercial product. In reality, it’s a scratch built WiFi streaming radio that has the finish quality of a commercial product. The radio connects to your wireless network and scans for available MP3s. You can select the MP3s using the front mounted rotary encoder and LCD. The main board is a VIA EPIA MS10000E LVDS. It was chosen because most of the features are pin headers instead of ports. It’s also passively cooled and boots a custom Knoppix build from the compact flash. The controls are connected using an ATMega 168. The software is written in Java and features a web interface and remote control identical to the front panel. There’s a great write-up about the project on mini-itx.com , full source on the project wiki , and extensive photo gallery . permalink
28
28
[ { "comment_id": "17417", "author": "Doolin", "timestamp": "2006-02-26T19:36:55", "content": "I think my next paycheck just found its purpose..", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "17416", "author": "The Tech Department", "timestamp": "2006-02...
1,760,377,939.669814
https://hackaday.com/2006/02/25/palm-zire-71-resurrection/
Palm Zire 71 Resurrection
Eliot
[ "handhelds hacks" ]
[]
Reader [steve diraddo]’s Zire 71 had given up the ghost long ago, but with a strong desire to annoy his friend, he decided to resurrect it . Unfortunately, like most things that rise from the earth to feast on the brains of the living, Steve’s Zire has limited capacities. When he had originally disassembled the device it was because the camera had stopped functioning, it couldn’t sync, and failed to charge. If he was going to do anything with the device, he would need to get it charging again. The dock connector no longer worked, so he grabbed the pinout for the internal connector from pinouts.ru . By following the traces, he was able to solder a USB cable directly to the board and start the device charging. There are also narrow USB data lines on the board, but Stave didn’t trust his hands to solder them. Programs can still be loaded via IrDA or the SD card. Plugging the screen back in and loading up NoviiRemote he had an ugly, but still very functional toy-to-annoy. On a related note, [Radu Privantu] sent along his write up: How to use a Pocket PC with a broken screen . Even though it doesn’t have a screen you could still use it as a thin client for streaming music, as a skype phone, a WiFi camera, or a dedicated development platform. permalink
14
14
[ { "comment_id": "17395", "author": "joe", "timestamp": "2006-02-25T19:55:05", "content": "i just sold mine, dang it", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "17393", "author": "Timbo", "timestamp": "2006-02-25T19:57:12", "content": "I thought ...
1,760,377,939.768122
https://hackaday.com/2006/02/24/underwater-cvs-camcorder/
Underwater CVS Camcorder
Eliot
[ "Portable Video Hacks" ]
[]
[Everett] got such a great response to yesterday’s nightvision hack he decided to write up this underwater CVS mod . The outside is a Pelican #1010 case. The camera fits almost perfectly inside. A small foam shim is used to position the camera lens between the two thick plastic ridges. Everett relocated the power button to the front of the camera and placed a guard around the shutter button on the back. The shutter is now wired to a reed switch at the back of the case. To start the camera recording he’s attached a magnet to a spring on the outside of the case that you slide over the reed switch to trigger it. If you missed it yesterday, he added an example shot from the nightvision cam . It isn’t swimming season so the only underwater pics he has are from the bathtub, which he luckily hasn’t posted. If you want to start hacking on a CVS cam, [ morcheeba ] warns that they still haven’t completely broken firmware 3.62 and above. Here is the FAQ . permalink
21
21
[ { "comment_id": "17382", "author": "tiuk", "timestamp": "2006-02-24T08:02:12", "content": "Heh, that was quick. Good stuff.", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "17383", "author": "vinnie", "timestamp": "2006-02-24T09:51:29", "content": "p...
1,760,377,939.72344
https://hackaday.com/2006/02/18/digitally-reading-analog-gauges/
Digitally Reading Analog Gauges
Eliot
[ "Misc Hacks" ]
[]
While working on his masters degree in controls and robotics, Hack-A-Day reader [Kenn Sebesta] developed a cheap method for digitally reading analog gauges . This method was necessitated by needing to take over 3000 measurements using a dial indicator during his thesis work. The system is implemented in Matlab and uses a webcam to take a picture of the gauge. Once picture is taken it goes through several steps: First, it is reduced to a single color. Then, edge extraction is used to find the lines. Next, the lines are thickened. Finally, the Hough transform is applied to find the longest line: the needle. All that is left to do is measure the arc back to the zero point and match it to your scale. Using this method Kenn’s laptop can take 4 measurements per second. permalink
19
19
[ { "comment_id": "17209", "author": "joel", "timestamp": "2006-02-18T19:24:25", "content": "interesting… well played lol", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "17210", "author": "Dick", "timestamp": "2006-02-18T19:32:47", "content": "Nice ha...
1,760,377,939.977767
https://hackaday.com/2006/02/17/hack-a-day-extra/
Hack-A-Day Extra
Eliot
[ "Uncategorized" ]
[]
The tip line has been pretty dry lately. Not really a lack submissions, just a lot stuff I can’t use because it has been covered everywhere else, like the multi-touch display . I’m not going to dedicate an entire day to something that’s already been on Engadget, Make, or Slashdot because you guys would be seriously pissed off. Reader tips drive this site and I would like to thank everyone that sends them in. You’re the reason this site stays fresh and original. The Team Hack-A-Day folding team is looking for ways to boost production (being #47 is pretty good though). If you don’t know what the team is about, [Billy the Impaler] has a Valentine for you: The New & Improved Illustrated Folding@home Guide . The #hackaday channel is still alive and well on EFnet. More links after the break. I hired Will O’Brien to write Engadget how-tos with Dave Zatz and me. His first one was this week: How-to:Scale video for better HDTV viewing . I’m sure I’m not the only dork here waiting for the Penny-Arcade CCG to be released. The website for Sabertooth games promises to send you a free Soul Calibur III and Street Fighter demo deck if you send them an email. It’s to promote their Universal Fighting System, so all of the cards should work together. You could kick Gabe’s ass using Talim; It would break his heart. [nbalmer]’s Paris Hilton Operation boardgame shocks the player. I’d like to see a guide for scratch-building Operation style games. [henning] blew up a RAZR . [Philip Mullis] help set up a wireless link in a really RF unfriendly environment . Nice use of old satellite dishes. How-to convert S-Video to composite [TGOS] Did you catch the update to the proximity card spoofer post? Jonathan Westhues’s work was mentioned on CNN . [Niacin] now has video out working on his MSN TV cluster . [Paul]’s Zero Footprint PC or what to do when your laptop screen breaks. [redwolf] fixes the power port on his laptop . Russia accused Britain of planting a “spy rock” in a Moscow park. [Sean Hillmeyer] decided that the US can’t be left behind in this rock based arms race and built his own . [Nick]’s Network based IR remote control [ex-parrot]’s PIC implementation of Donkey Racer [Matt]’s light-up vintage telephone ringer [StephenC_IRL]’s PhonEY bluetooth decoy phone Thanks again to everyone who sends in tips . UPDATE: Crap, I forgot to include [squidjam]’s experience using Desitin as thermal compound (I didn’t know what it was either): I recently used Desitin as a substitute to thermal compound in an “el cheapo” generic aircooling system (mega or omega) when the wax that came with it failed to work. I used a dremel (with the soft polishing and shine tip) to remove all of it from both the heatspreader and the p4 3.06 Ghz. then i applied a generous ammount (no more than 1 mm thick spreaded over the processor) and installed it all. It worked, the darn thing didn’t go further down from 69 degrees celsius and it went down to a maximum of 52 when doing heavy work. It works because thermal compound (the white one) is made with zinc oxide
10
10
[ { "comment_id": "17191", "author": "mastershake916", "timestamp": "2006-02-18T08:09:45", "content": "Woot @ team-hackaday folding!HAD wants YOU.", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "17189", "author": "ex-parrot", "timestamp": "2006-02-18T08:1...
1,760,377,940.020669
https://hackaday.com/2006/02/17/hardware-keylogger/
Hardware Keylogger
Eliot
[ "Peripherals Hacks" ]
[]
Keelog.com has a really concise description of how to build a PS/2 based keylogger . The main components are an AT89C2051 microcontroller and a 24C512 serial EEPROM. Once it is plugged in, the device begins recording all of the codes generated by the keyboard. The data can then be dumped using their keygrab software. [thanks Boss] permalink
31
31
[ { "comment_id": "17181", "author": "Bob Dole", "timestamp": "2006-02-17T20:57:40", "content": "Actually the web address ishttp://www.keylog.com….", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "17180", "author": "Bob Dole", "timestamp": "2006-02-17T20:5...
1,760,377,940.091759
https://hackaday.com/2006/02/16/rc-car-telemetry/
RC Car Telemetry
Eliot
[ "Transportation Hacks" ]
[]
Meghan Desai and Yiling Li built this radio controlled car telemetry system for their “Designing with microcontrollers” class. They had looked at several other RC projects and decided it would save a lot of trouble if they didn’t attempt to work with the car’s on-board microcontroller. They built separate boards to house the four IR sensing pairs, temperature sensors, accelerometer, and an Atmel Mega32. All of the collected data is transmitted at 433MHz. On the receiving end is another Mega32 that processes the data and formats it for display on a TV. They’ve done an excellent job documenting their project. If you have to do a design project this semester, we’d love to see it. Just get some free hosting from Blogger and post your project. I’m using Blogger as an example since they don’t crash and burn when we link to them. permalink
5
5
[ { "comment_id": "17154", "author": "colin brown", "timestamp": "2006-02-16T20:48:54", "content": "I’ve got an old tamiya tt-01 sitting around that could be chopped up for a more high end version. The accelerometer could be used by itself just for analysing the cars performance.", "parent_id": nu...
1,760,377,939.920768
https://hackaday.com/2006/02/16/underwater-living/
Underwater Living
Eliot
[ "Uncategorized" ]
[]
Willy Volk interviewed Lloyd Godson for Divester’s latest podcast . Lloyd is building a self-sustaining underwater habitat: the BioSUB . It will hold at least 15 square meters of engineered wheat to convert CO2 to oxygen. He also plans on testing Alon Bodner’s Like-A-Fish tankless SCUBA technology. The system works by lowering the pressure of the seawater to extract the oxygen. The BioSUB project is sponsered by the Australian Geographic Society and Lloyd plans on launching this August. A quick note: if you caught my friend’s dance/electronica radio show last week, it’s on again tonight 7-9PM CST. Click for the live stream . permalink
4
4
[ { "comment_id": "17149", "author": "Karan Lyons", "timestamp": "2006-02-17T03:34:52", "content": "What? Why isn’t this image in black and white? And where are the fake scotch tape corners? You’re letting me down buddy.", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_...
1,760,377,940.132118
https://hackaday.com/2006/02/15/maker-faire/
Maker Faire
Eliot
[ "Uncategorized" ]
[]
I’m going to be attending Make magazine’s Maker Faire April 22-23rd, San Mateo, CA . It should be a lot of fun. This is my event schedule for the rest of the year. Feel free to suggest events I should be attending. Maker Faire , April 22-23rd, San Mateo, CA Hope number six , July 21-23rd, NYC Siggraph 2006 , August 1-3rd, Boston Defcon 14 , August 4-6th, Las Vegas Toorcon 8 , September, San Diego permalink
8
8
[ { "comment_id": "17141", "author": "markie", "timestamp": "2006-02-16T00:57:13", "content": "good luck at the Maker Faire! :-)", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "17142", "author": "gabriel", "timestamp": "2006-02-16T04:21:58", "content"...
1,760,377,940.173453
https://hackaday.com/2006/02/15/reprap-the-replicating-rapid-prototyper/
RepRap: The Replicating Rapid Prototyper
Eliot
[ "Misc Hacks" ]
[]
The RepRap project hopes to build a universal constructor; a machine that can replicate itself and make a number of useful products. The machine is open source and uses fused deposition modeling (FDM) to layer melted material into parts. One of the key technologies in self-replication is the ability to lay conductive circuit paths. The RepRap machine is able to lay down conductive material and an insulator. For a conductor they are using Wood’s metal, a fusible alloy that has a melting point of 158degF. To demonstrate this conductor laying ability they built the FDM head pictured in a commercial FDM machine. The project makes some reasonable compromises; it doesn’t attempt to make common items like brass bushings, microcontrollers, stepper motors, self-tapping screws, and power supplies. permalink
11
11
[ { "comment_id": "17137", "author": "Daedalus", "timestamp": "2006-02-15T21:16:16", "content": "That seems to be taken from Deus Ex game!", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "17135", "author": "furtim", "timestamp": "2006-02-15T21:38:08", ...
1,760,377,940.220617
https://hackaday.com/2006/02/14/ux50-long-life-battery/
UX50 Long-life Battery
Eliot
[ "Tablet Hacks" ]
[]
The Sony PEG-UX50 was an impressive package when it was released in 2003. It had a 480×320 screen, keyboard, convertible screen, built-in camera, WiFi and Bluetooth. As with most portable devices, the short time the battery stayed charged left much to be desired. Sony sold an EB40 battery pack that piggy-backed the device, but reader [JAmerican] wanted to extend its charge even further. It took a little dancing around with the charging circuit, but he was eventually able to combine 4 batteries to construct a 3880mAh battery that keeps the UX50 running, even after 9 hours of use. Here’s a site with a decent photo gallery of the UX50 (at the bottom). permalink
19
19
[ { "comment_id": "17125", "author": "hb", "timestamp": "2006-02-14T19:52:48", "content": "I thought Li-ion battery requires constant current charging up to a certain voltage level then changes into constant voltage charging. Not sure how he does this.", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "rep...
1,760,377,940.270388
https://hackaday.com/2006/02/13/proximity-card-spoofer-proxmarkii/
Proximity Card Spoofer: Proxmarkii
Eliot
[ "Misc Hacks" ]
[]
I had seen the link for Jonathan Westhues’s original proximity card spoofer floating around recently and decided to check out the site to see if anything had changed since we originally covered the story . Well, he’s got a brand new version . This one has far more features than the original, mostly because of the extra processing power provided by an Atmel AT91. The new spoofer can handle multiple modulation schemes; which means it is capable of copying almost any 125kHz or 13.56GHz ID-only card. Although it can’t clone cryptographic cards, it does have a full feature set for communicating with them. By connecting the USB port to a computer you can see an “oscilloscope view” of the signal from the card to assist in writing demodulation code. If you are serious about doing RFID research this hardware is a must-have. You could buy a standard reader, but that would tell you nothing about the protocol. This is definitely a clever tool and certainly impressive for something smaller than a business card. UPDATE: Jonathan Westhue’s work was mentioned in a CNN story Feb 14th. You can watch the video here . [thanks David] permalink
9
9
[ { "comment_id": "17107", "author": "andre paris", "timestamp": "2006-02-13T20:12:40", "content": "Does the author ever plan to release the schematics for this little beauty? It would be a great little addition to a viable home based security business.", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "re...
1,760,377,940.315955
https://hackaday.com/2006/02/12/msn-tv-linux-cluster/
MSN TV Linux Cluster
Eliot
[ "Uncategorized" ]
[]
I just saw this MSN TV Linux Cluster over on Engadget . The boxes have a 733mhz Celeron, 128MB RAM, 2 x USB, Ethernet, and a 64MB CF card for storage. That’s twice the RAM of an Xbox and with a node cost of $0.99 it makes a much more sensible and compact cluster. The only limit right now seems to be a 64MB capacity cap for the CF card. You do need to build a level shifting serial cable to talk to it though. Microsoft included serial pins on the board, which is convenient. I think that a TTL to RS-232 level shifting box is becoming the second most useful device behind the bench power supply . You need to do serial level shifting whether you are talking to an NSLU , iPod , GP2X , or WRT54G . You might as well make the thing USB while you are at it. So, who wants to do the how-to? permalink
23
23
[ { "comment_id": "17099", "author": "deg", "timestamp": "2006-02-13T00:58:59", "content": "awesome! not quite $0.99 each though..more like $10 each (20 for $200). looks like a perfect use for the cheap and plentiful hardware.", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "co...
1,760,377,940.371881
https://hackaday.com/2006/02/12/gp2x-usb-host-mode/
GP2X USB Host Mode
Eliot
[ "handhelds hacks" ]
[]
Amongst PDAs, cellphones, portable game consoles, and digital audio players USB host mode isn’t that common. The lack of host mode is why you can’t plug your iPod into your PSP. The iPod camera connector is a partial work-around for this problem. The Linux based GP2X gets more interesting with this new development. Using the GP2X’s USB host requires building a special cable for its expansion port. The port features JTAG, serial, audio, and video pins as well. USB host mode opens the doors for any number of USB peripherals to be used with the GP2X: larger storage from a hard drive/iPod, full sized keyboard for use with a command line, WiFi provided by USB adapter. There is the potential to do anything that you could do with a standard PC. If I had known this I would have bought a GP2X without a second thought… so, after two thoughts I bought one and it showed up last Friday evening. I’ll let you know how it works out. permalink
25
25
[ { "comment_id": "17077", "author": "XyTec", "timestamp": "2006-02-12T21:20:39", "content": "kool i wish we could do they with a psp.", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "17076", "author": "afbcom", "timestamp": "2006-02-12T21:31:30", "con...
1,760,377,940.511139
https://hackaday.com/2006/02/11/flat-response-microphone-and-amplifier/
Flat Response Microphone And Amplifier
Eliot
[ "home entertainment hacks" ]
[]
Pete (AC7ZL) wrote in to tell us about his latest project: building a flat response microphone and channel amplifier . You may remember his previous project: building a crystal radio from modern junk . Sounds are “colored” by their surroundings; things like furniture, wall coverings, drapes and building materials all affect the way something sounds. To measure the effect that a space has on sound you need a microphone with a flat frequency response. The core element of Pete’s mic is a modified Panasonic WM61A condenser capsule. He rewired it so that it had a broader dynamic range and could handle a higher SPL at the cost of reduced gain. To boost the signal to a usable level he built a preamp with three stages of amplification. He’s got schematics and a more detailed description on the site. permalink
10
10
[ { "comment_id": "17052", "author": "stupid audio nerd", "timestamp": "2006-02-11T20:24:37", "content": "Is this “flat” in theory or in actuality? It would make it easier to calibrate for other programs if we knew more about what we had. Can you provide a frequency plot (MLSSA or equiv?) Those Panas...
1,760,377,940.562493
https://hackaday.com/2006/02/10/geodesic-dome-shelter-from-cardboard/
Geodesic Dome Shelter From Cardboard
Eliot
[ "Misc Hacks" ]
[]
Here are some really thorough instructions for building geodesic domes . This particular set of plans was developed by some Burning Man attendees who wanted a comfortable structure that would stand up to the elements. The dome is made of 30 triangles cut from double layered cardboard, 5 wood triangles with vents, 5 wooden doorway triangles, and 5 cardboard doors. The majority of the triangles are bolted together to form pentagons that are then bolted to each other. With all of the triangles painted and seams sealed with duct tape the structure is water proof. All of the dimensions and assembly instructions are provided to create a dome 12’7″ in diameter and 6’3″ in the center. [thanks l0cke] permalink
17
17
[ { "comment_id": "17044", "author": "KurtRoedeger", "timestamp": "2006-02-10T19:14:37", "content": "COOL IDEA FOR BURNING MAN. IT TOTALLY FITS WITH THE FESTIVITIES.", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "17043", "author": "andre paris", "timest...
1,760,377,940.631357
https://hackaday.com/2006/02/09/power-glove-mouse/
Power Glove Mouse
Eliot
[ "Peripherals Hacks" ]
[]
Feeling a bit nostalgic, Hack-A-Day reader Brandon has been hacking on a Nintendo Power Glove . The original Power Glove was sold by Mattel as a unique controller for the NES. It used ultrasonic sensors to determine orientation and could detect four different positions per finger. The finger’s resistance varies depending on how much it is bent, so Brandon used an LM339 comparator to determine the mouse clicks. For the actual mouse interface he used the guts of a Gyration mouse. He’s got a video of the beast in action plus links to an original Power Glove ad . permalink
14
14
[ { "comment_id": "17027", "author": "Mooga", "timestamp": "2006-02-09T19:20:10", "content": "This has to be one of the coolest hacks EVER!", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "17026", "author": "alan", "timestamp": "2006-02-09T19:22:57", "...
1,760,377,940.69308
https://hackaday.com/2006/02/23/cvs-nightvision-camcorder/
CVS Nightvision Camcorder
Eliot
[ "Portable Video Hacks" ]
[]
Our loyal reader [Everett] has hacked up a CVS single-use camcorder to use as a nightvision scope . This is his second prototype. The first one only had 4 cruddy IR LEDs from Radiohut and a front mounted battery pack. For the second one, he separated the batteries from the camera. He removed the IR filter from the CCD and added 8 higher quality IR LEDs. On the backside of the camera is the eyepiece from a Handycam. It keeps the the LCD screen from leaking light and has a lense to help the eye to focus on the screen. The LCD is to bright to use without adding a dimmer pot. The camera is mounted to a headlamp rig with the batteries on the backside of the head. It may not have the best image quality, but at $35 you can’t go wrong when it comes to nightvision fun. permalink
32
32
[ { "comment_id": "17362", "author": "grayskies", "timestamp": "2006-02-23T19:17:47", "content": "he’s a regular old sam fisher.Thats awesome, I’d like to see some shots from it as night vision, performance wise.Great hack!", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comme...
1,760,377,940.904252
https://hackaday.com/2006/02/22/dvd-thermometer/
DVD Thermometer
Eliot
[ "Misc Hacks" ]
[]
Reader [alberto ricci bitti]’s DVD thermometer is a temperature sensing infrared remote that controls a DVD showing the temperature. Since the box doesn’t get any feedback from the DVD player, it stops and starts the disc to make sure it is at a known state. The brain of the device is a Motorola MC68HC908QT4, an 8-pin microcontroller. Communication with the Maxim DS1621 temperature sensor I2C bus is done in software. Even if you don’t want to build a gaudy thermometer the article features a lot of interesting information. It covers reverse engineering the remote, emulating an I2C bus, and creating a programmable pulse generator instead of bitbanging. permalink
6
6
[ { "comment_id": "17330", "author": "kamet", "timestamp": "2006-02-22T19:24:46", "content": "that is one of the most clever ideas on displaying information i’ve ever seen. i love these novel ways of displaying information without a regular add-on lcd. one of my other fav was somebody using a multipme...
1,760,377,940.837136
https://hackaday.com/2006/02/22/hack-media-security-podcasts-2/
Hack Media: Security Podcasts
Eliot
[ "Uncategorized" ]
[]
Do you want to listen to four and a half hours of security podcasts? Well, you don’t have to because I did. Here are the highlights from podcasts released this last week: Security Now! #27 How Local Area Networks Work, Part 1 37:09 If you don’t know the difference between DHCP and static IP, then this is the podcast for you! Next week promises to be a little more interesting when they get into the problems with ARP. CyberSpeak Feb 18 76:36 has some pretty good news coverage, but the real highlight is the interview with Bruce Potter from The Shmoo Group that starts after 20:00. If you don’t know about the group and the work they’ve done, this is a good intro. LiveAmmo: Digital Forensics and Hacking Investigations, Part 2 46:54 Woof. If you are persuing digital forensics as a career then this would be a great start. Otherwise, avoid, unless you want to know what particular subsection of a law you are violating. SploitCast #006 36:26 probably has the best atmosphere of these podcasts (and it’s the shortest). The team covers the recent news of a phishing site using a valid SSL cert . You could probably wait till next week when they talk to Lance James to get all of the details. I will say that the Web 2.0 discussion is about as inane as arguing which year the millennium starts. They do earn some extra points since my mom doesn’t read Schneier . Blue Box #16 69:00 is all about VoIP and naturally the best produced. I don’t follow VoIP very closely, so the news roundup for the first 20 minutes was really interesting. If you aren’t doing enterprise VoIP then this podcast isn’t for you. Each of these had some high points (even LiveAmmo). They could all do better if they were shorter. I would say that CyberSpeak was my favorite this week, but I don’t want to encourage another 76 minute podcast. What podcasts do you recommend?
7
7
[ { "comment_id": "17324", "author": "calvin", "timestamp": "2006-02-23T03:07:11", "content": "I reccommend geek speak radio. It outlines geek stuff each week, but it sometimes prety funny.", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "17322", "author": "ma...
1,760,377,941.072717
https://hackaday.com/2006/02/21/low-cost-sensing-and-communication-with-an-led/
Low-cost Sensing And Communication With An LED
Eliot
[ "Misc Hacks" ]
[]
LEDs are extremely common in electronic devices. They are used as light emitters, but can also be used as light detectors since they are photodiodes. By quickly switching between light emitting and detecting, you can use the LEDs to determine the ambient lighting and even do bidirectional communication. MERL has a good paper covering the basics of how this system works and how they used it as a “last-centimeter” communication device. The system can be implemented using one LED, a resistor, and two I/O pins. So, it could be used cheaply in almost any device. The microprocessor quickly switches the LED between emitting light, detecting light (LED acts as a charging capacitor), and measuring the discharge rate of the LED to determine light level. Jeff Han has a neat video demo of how this system can be used as a proximity sensor. UPDATE: [hawkeyeaz1] pointed to a blog covering one person’s investigations into LED sensors . [thanks branen] permalink
75
50
[ { "comment_id": "17295", "author": "Straus", "timestamp": "2006-02-21T19:06:40", "content": "Lame, HackADay ain’t what it used to be. Before they’d publish hacks that an average guy could do with just a minimal understanding of electronics, and some extra stuff as well for guys who were far more adv...
1,760,377,940.990263
https://hackaday.com/2006/02/20/hacking-the-commodore-64-dtv-version-2/
Hacking The Commodore 64 DTV Version 2
Eliot
[ "home entertainment hacks" ]
[]
The original C64 DTV was a joystick containing 30 games sold in 2004. It attracted hackers because it could be modified into a fully functioning console. The latest version of the chip is being sold inside a Radio Shack Hummer game . This version fixes bugs in the original and adds several features to improve memory access and CPU speed. Before you get started there are several modifications that need to be done to improve the video and audio quality of the system. Once these mods are complete you can start playing with the machine just like an original C64. Oh, the Hummer game will look a lot better too. [thanks av1d]
15
15
[ { "comment_id": "17251", "author": "steel maverick", "timestamp": "2006-02-20T19:10:14", "content": "sweet", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "17252", "author": "alio", "timestamp": "2006-02-20T19:37:06", "content": "old school to the ma...
1,760,377,941.118953
https://hackaday.com/2006/02/20/hack-media-reprap-presentation/
Hack Media: RepRap Presentation
Eliot
[ "Uncategorized" ]
[]
Vik Olliver gave a presentation on the RepRap project to the AuckLUG last week. You can download it from the Internet Archive in Ogg Theora format (which will keep us from trashing AuckLUG’s archive). If you’re interested in this project, you should be reading the RepRap blog , which is getting updated daily. permalink
9
9
[ { "comment_id": "17238", "author": "the dentist", "timestamp": "2006-02-21T02:44:36", "content": "o yeah first postogg theora nice format ive never used it before. what’s the best player for it? is it made by the same as ogg vorbis?", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, {...
1,760,377,941.03101
https://hackaday.com/2006/02/19/ball-and-plate-doohickey/
Ball And Plate Doohickey
Eliot
[ "Misc Hacks" ]
[]
So, if you were wondering what [Kenn Sebesta] was working on that needed yesterday’s hack , this is it . The plate can maintain the cue ball in its current position or make it travel an arbitrary path like a circle or figure-eight. It can also avoid obstacles placed on the plate. Kenn has documented his project thoroughly and covers many of the problems he faced along the way, like how to find the ball in the webcam image . Like most quality thesis projects, it’s constructed out of LEGO. UPDATE: Now with video ! permalink
20
20
[ { "comment_id": "17230", "author": "lolersticks", "timestamp": "2006-02-19T20:15:52", "content": "LEGO: The be-all end-all of thesis projects around the world.When the robotic overlords take over, kenn sebesta will be saved for last.", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, ...
1,760,377,941.177328
https://hackaday.com/2006/02/09/hack-a-day-extra-2/
Hack-A-Day Extra
Eliot
[ "Uncategorized" ]
[]
I told my friend that I would promote his radio show, but we would probably DOS the streaming server. He said, “Go for it!” If you are interested in dance/electronica, listen to You are so beautiful, beautiful robot every Thursday, 7-9PM CST. Click for the live stream . [Sean Hillmeyer] notified us that DC480 will be handling the TCP/IP Enabled Contest at Defcon again this year. The contest rules are on their site . We saw at least one of the entries last year. It has been nearly a month since I put one of these posts together. Which means our Team Hack-A-Day folding team has produced over 12.5 million points and are now in the top 50 . Watch out team “Linux”?! Continue reading for lots of links. [ scout ] pointed out another wireless mod for Austar antennas . [ Chris Martin ] still needs to add fiber optics to light up the laser on his Death Star thumb drive . CalPolyPomona is working on Generic Interpreter , a program that creates just-in-time interpreters in Java. [Xor_pettit] Tom’s Networking ran a series of articles on using an Xbox as NAS: Parts one , two , and three [default] openEyes is pursuing low cost eye tracking and has some information on the software involved. [Alex] [MAT_THE_W] made a protective acrylic cover for his monitor . Bad Brothers Racing has updated their site and are continuing to make progress on their jet-bike. [ Standard Mischief ]’s guide to zeroing your Google cookie . Dustin Kirk’s RFID blocking duct tape wallet . Wouldn’t it be better to use foil tape instead of tape and foil? [andrew chiong via Lifehacker ] How-to modify the images on your Mobiblu MP3 player. [blt] [ woz ]’s shortened USB drive [eric]’s paper clip and rubber band pen holder . I’d hate to be around when that thing explodes. [Jakeh]’s semi-automatic rubber band gun from a pizza box Drivers for using the EyeToy as a webcam [Enrique] Make your own Griffin Powermate . This is on my list of things to build. [ GRimo ] Floppy disk striped RAID under OS X [tutejszy] [shtoink] pointed out that our friend Jason Rollette has been working on version 2 of his underwater ROV . [n2ei] reminded us that the 19th Annual Winter Shortwave Listeners Fest (SWL Fest) will be March 3-4 in Kulpsville, PA. [Chris Rybitski]’s LED LEGO bricks [sprocket] has grafted a LEGO RCX into his Roboraptor . [ Lance ]’s joke guide to turning a PocketPC into an iPod . [ fastmhz ]’s portable NES Guide for repairing common laptop problems Video of opening a lock with a banana [mat] [Burke] wrote a serial interface for XMMS that will work with our Winamp controller . Spark Fun’s guide to reflowing solder using an electric skillet [agent420] [thoughtfix]’s USB power injector for peripherals that can’t get enough power from the host. [gordon]’s night ops eraser 256bytes demos archive [Daedalus] [computerguru365] replaces a USB port on his Blackberry . A couple projects by Hack-A-Day readers were featured on other sites today: [Joseph] is selling his i-Tablet on eBay . [Artypete]’s Mac Mini portable Thank you for all of the tips .
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[ { "comment_id": "17013", "author": "william", "timestamp": "2006-02-10T03:21:27", "content": "too bad the 8-bit nes doesnt have more pics. but that’s okoh and also, why bother shortening your usb drive? half an inch isn’t really gonna make any difference.the article on google’s cookie is really inte...
1,760,377,941.235943
https://hackaday.com/2006/02/08/accelr8-a-homemade-g-meter/
AccelR8, A Homemade G-meter
Eliot
[ "Transportation Hacks" ]
[]
Jesper has created an automotive performance meter using a handful of ICs. The key chip is the ADXL202 from Analog Devices. It measures acceleration while the AVR 8515 keeps track of time and does all of the calculations. All you need to do is enter the weight of the vehicle and the meter will calculate your 0-60 mph time, 60-0 braking distance, and maximum horsepower. There is a complete schematic on Jesper’s site, but the code still needs to have a few bugs worked out. This project is essentially a reproduction of the first generation G-TECH/Pro meter (bunnie has a picture of the original board ). The new generation G-TECH meters are fun to play with and do interesting things like determining the engine RPM by measuring the noise in the electrical system. permalink
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[ { "comment_id": "16995", "author": "Twistedsymphony", "timestamp": "2006-02-08T20:18:14", "content": "That’s pretty nifty, It might be interesting to see an expanded application, perhaps with lateral Gs and a graphical readout.", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { ...
1,760,377,941.280655
https://hackaday.com/2006/02/07/3d-board-modeling-with-eagle-and-povray/
3D Board Modeling With Eagle And POVRay
Eliot
[ "Misc Hacks" ]
[]
Sometimes the two-dimensional layout of a circuit board doesn’t tell the whole story so Matthias Wei?r created Eagle3D . Once the board is laid out in EAGLE you export it using the Eagle3D tool. The tool has predefined parts that it then uses to render the board in 3D using POV-Ray , a free ray-tracing program. There are a lot of parts included already, but you can define more using POV-Ray’s Scene Description Language. Using POV-Ray you can also make 3D movies your board permalink
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[ { "comment_id": "16982", "author": "KOLWON", "timestamp": "2006-02-07T20:15:45", "content": "this is impressive. would make circuit boards a bit easier for someone who doesn’t know what they are doing.", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "16983", ...
1,760,377,941.330933
https://hackaday.com/2006/02/07/air-cooled-mouse-pad/
Air Cooled Mouse Pad
Eliot
[ "Peripherals Hacks" ]
[]
Jared and Dan from Inventgeek have just posted their latest how-to: The air cooled mouse pad . They know that there are air cooled mice that you can buy, but why should you have to use an inferior mouse for gaming just for one feature? They decided instead to convert an Antec laptop cooler into the ultimate gaming mouse pad; One that keeps your hand cool and lets you use whatever mouse you prefer. permalink
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[ { "comment_id": "16969", "author": "Sleighboy", "timestamp": "2006-02-08T01:06:32", "content": "Keep my hand cool? Where is my damn heated mouse?", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "16968", "author": "grayskies", "timestamp": "2006-02-08T01...
1,760,377,941.380816
https://hackaday.com/2006/02/06/the-mac-minitosh/
The Mac Minitosh
Eliot
[ "Mac Hacks" ]
[]
Hack-A-Day reader [Lee Olivares] stuffed a Macintosh Plus full of new hardware without butchering the case. From the original test fit he could see that the Mac Mini’s DVD slot lined up well with the original floppy slot, so it just needed to be widened a little bit for clearance. The monitor is black and white, but a separate VGA port has been split off for an external monitor. The original motherboard was cut down so that the original power switch and ports could be used. Any new ports were hidden behind the battery cover. [thanks Lee and Adam ] permalink
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[ { "comment_id": "16953", "author": "digitalmaddog", "timestamp": "2006-02-06T20:09:22", "content": "great hack i did one a while back with a via 500 and wireless i en=ve did the mac aquarium i love these little machines there are so many options you can do with them i may have to go back to do anoth...
1,760,377,941.615749
https://hackaday.com/2006/02/06/fon-or-how-to-get-a-cheap-linksys-wrt54g/
FON Or How To Get A Cheap Linksys WRT54G
Eliot
[ "Uncategorized" ]
[]
FON hit the news recently because it acquired some venture capital from Google and Skype . Its goal is to create a global network of access points run by home users. The users can either offer access for free or resell their bandwidth. The actual FON software is based on DD-WRT , a Linux based firmware for the Linksys WRT54G wireless router and others. DD-WRT features a captive portal, QoS, and many additional features. FON is selling 3,000 routers with their software pre-installed for 25USD/EUR plus shipping. This is a great way to pick up a WRT without paying Linksys’s Linux penalty and it comes with a great firmware already installed. Oh, unless you have broadband from a friendly company like Speakeasy , becoming a fonero is probably a violation of your “terms of service”. permalink
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[ { "comment_id": "16939", "author": "Nice!", "timestamp": "2006-02-06T21:12:13", "content": "Nice! my friends always come over and steal my internet access, so i might buy this!:-)", "parent_id": null, "depth": 1, "replies": [] }, { "comment_id": "16940", "author": "atomicjam"...
1,760,377,941.794551