Items Tag › RIT Make Club Idea Stream

I posted to hackaday.com

Time delay door alarm

http://hackaday.com/2010/03/06/time-delay-door-alarm/

Ever accidentally left your front door ajar and had a pet escape? [BlackCow] came up with a simple solution to this problem. The circuit is fairly rudimentary but a great example of using the basics to get the job done. Now, instead of having an alarm that sounds as soon as the door is open, he has a 30 second delay. This helps avoid the “boy who cried wolf” effect also known as the “vista security warning” effect of being bothered too many times for a non issue. We also have to say that we like his taste in blog layouts.

[via Hacked Gadgets]
- Tags:
- home hacks
- security
- alarm
- classic hacks
March 6 2010, 6:38pm | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

DIY Diodes

http://hackaday.com/2010/03/05/diy-diodes/

[H. P. Friedrichs], the creator of the Static Bleeder has created his own diodes. Using household chemicals, a film of cuprous oxide was made on a copper pipe cap. Cuprous oxide has been one of the first known semiconductor substances, has a low forward drop but is an otherwise asymmetrical conductor, odd V-I curves, and some neat photovoltaic action. The apparatus seen above is used to bring a piece of lead (in this case, solder) into contact with the salmon-colored cuprous oxide while electrical connections can be made to the binding posts at the front. What are your thoughts on this device?
- Tags:
- hardware
- diode
- radio
- classic hacks
- Cuprous oxide
March 5 2010, 5:01pm | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

DIY projector collection

http://hackaday.com/2010/03/04/diy-projector-collection/

Reader [Jan] came across a website all about building your own video projector. We’ve linked to five of the best projects for 2010 but there’s a ton more information if you dig a little deeper. Our favorite so far is the GohtanBox v3 and it’s giant LED panel that serves as the projection light.
- Tags:
- home entertainment hacks
- projector
- classic hacks
March 4 2010, 2:00pm | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

LED and fan controller

http://hackaday.com/2010/03/03/led-and-fan-controller/

Needing a front fan to keep his hard drive cool, [CalcProgrammer1] found he was unhappy with a single LED color for the fan. He swapped them out for a set of four RGB LEDs and whipped up his own controller board for the unit. It is based around an ATmega168 and patches into the COM2 header on the motherboard, providing a serial interface. [CalcProgrammer1] wrote a GUI to control fan speed, and individual LED color settings. You can take a look at and enthralling, edge-of-your-seat demonstration of how slider controls work after the break. Wouldn’t it be great if the HDD LED clock could be adapted to use a fan so that the front panel had a colorful analog dial on it?
- Tags:
- led
- rgb
- serial
- fan
- led hacks
- classic hacks
- com2
March 3 2010, 11:00am | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Automatic telephone recorder

http://hackaday.com/2010/03/02/automatic-telephone-recorder/

[James Bond] types and those suffering from a hefty dose of paranoia can now record all telephone conversations. [Trax] built this module that monitors the phone line and starts recording when a handset is picked up. A computer does the actual recording, triggered by the microcontroller via a USB connection.

We like the use of an old PCB for a faceplate, we’ve certainly got some duds of our own sitting around. The three cords are a bit confusing though. One for the phone line, one for the USB, but what does the third do? Is it an audio-out connection?

We’ve asked [Trax] to post a schematic and source code if possible so that might clear up the mystery.
- Tags:
- cellphones hacks
- usb
- telephone
- classic hacks
- recorder
March 2 2010, 4:19pm | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

doomBox: Classic keys meet tiny screen

http://hackaday.com/2010/03/01/doombox-classic-keys-meet-tiny-screen/

The doomBox is a dedicated gaming rig for lovers of ID Software’s classic title. [JJ] built this from an old Kodak DC290 camera that had a broken lens. Since this runs the Digita OS, he was able to use the Doom port that already exists. But the camera’s factory buttons were not well suited as controls. By whipping up his own button board, and using the traditional keyboard keys for the button caps, he achieved a much more comfortable (yet squint-inducing) gaming experience. The finished project resides in an all-too-familiar black project box. See him fire it up after the break.

The original Doom for Digita OS pages seem to be down so here’s an alternate if you’re interested.
- Tags:
- digital cameras hacks
- classic hacks
- doom
- kodak
- dc290
- digita os
March 1 2010, 3:00pm | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Two input devices made with common items

http://hackaday.com/2010/02/27/two-input-devices-made-with-common-items/

Here’s two input devices you can easily build with materials you already have on hand.

To the left, [John] built a 3×3 keypad matrix from paper and tinfoil. The rows and columns are made up of strips of tin foil on the front and back layers of paper. The layers are separated by spongy double-stick tape. A ‘keypress’ results when the gap between the conductors is compressed with your finger.

In much the same way, [Dave Fletcher] built a touch potentiometer. He made two resistance plates by scribbling pencil lead on sheets of paper. When the two plates face each other, separated by the same type of foam tape as before, they can be pressed together to form a circuit with a variable resistance. This results in a crude version of the SparkFun softpot.
- Tags:
- matrix
- potentiometer
- keypad
- classic hacks
- tape
- foam
- variable
February 27 2010, 11:29am | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Oscilloscope doubles as a serial terminal

http://hackaday.com/2010/02/24/oscilloscope-doubles-as-a-serial-terminal/

PC-based USB oscilloscopes are fast becoming all the rage. [Matt Sarnoff’s] Terminalscope takes the reverse approach, adapting an oscilloscope into a full serial terminal. You may have seen something similar before in the Dutchtronix/SparkFun O-Clock, but [Matt’s] project goes one further by adding a PS/2 keyboard port for full bidirectional serial communication, and with much sharper display resolution to boot.

The mostly VT-100 compatible Terminalscope is built around two AVR microcontrollers: an ATmega328P runs full-tilt to generate the video signal and handle serial I/O, while an ATtiny45 handles keyboard input to avoid interrupting the ’328’s duties. Rather than vector trace each character, a raster-scanning approach is used: the beam follows a fixed X/Y path (like a television), while modulating the Z input (beam intensity) to form an image. The device can be connected to a PC via serial port or USB-to-TTY adapter, or directly to another microcontroller to debug serial output.

We recently showed an oscilloscope being used as a multichannel digital logic display. The Terminalscope provides yet another use for this essential bench tool and could nicely round out a “poor man’s” testing setup. The schematic and full source code are available for download.
- Tags:
- attiny
- peripherals hacks
- atmega
- AVR
- hardware
- terminal
- serial
- oscilloscope
- vt100
- classic hacks
- oscope
- scope
- raster
- vector
- vt-100
February 24 2010, 6:10am | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Add pause button to the Atari 2600

http://hackaday.com/2010/02/23/add-pause-button-to-the-atari-2600/

We’re sure that if there had been a pause button on the Atari 2600 people would never have moved on to next-generation systems. Now you can dig the gaming relic out of the closet and pause your Atari games for some good old om nom nom.This hack is from the same person who pulled off the Atari 2600 jukebox. By reverse engineering the signals used on the Onyx Jr., which has a pause button, the halt method became clear.

The problem is that the Onyx Jr. uses a different processor than the 2600. A different processor means a different pin-out, and now the clock signal needed to synchronize the pause cycle was missing. But eureka, an abstract source was found. The ready signal from another chip can be used to judge the state of the processor. The small PCB above now interfaces with the Atari 2600 in order to patch in the pause circuit.

[Thanks again Yuppicide, keep 'em coming!]
- Tags:
- home entertainment hacks
- atari 2600
- classic hacks
- pause
February 23 2010, 2:00pm | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Looping foot pedal

http://hackaday.com/2010/02/23/looping-foot-pedal/

This guitar pedal can record, playback, and modify samples. [Colin Merkel], also know for his work on electronic door locks, built this to replicate some guitar effects he heard in recordings. By tapping the button at the bottom with your foot the device begins recording. Another tap stops the recording and starts the loop. That’s where the rest of the controls take over, with settings to adjust the speed of playback, volume, and the type of playback looping. The video after the break gives a great demonstration of these features.

[Colin] built this around a PIC 18F877A with a 256k RAM chip to store the sample. There’s a bunch of other components that go into this and we’re dumbfounded that he built it on protoboard. This would be a multi-breadboard prototype for us and we wouldn’t think twice about laying out and etching our own PCB. He admits that the point-to-point soldering stretched his skills to the limit but he doesn’t say how many hours it took to get the circuit up and running. This is a great addition to the cool guitar pedals we’ve seen here.
- Tags:
- digital audio hacks
- pic
- classic hacks
- loop
- 18f877a
- guitar pedal
February 23 2010, 12:00pm | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

DIY aluminum heat sink casting

http://hackaday.com/2010/02/23/diy-aluminum-heat-sink-casting/

[Peter Wirasnik] has been casting his own aluminum heat sinks. He’s working on capturing the heat from a car’s exhaust system and turning it into electricity, kind of like the candle generator. In the photo above a standard heat sink is bolted to one side of a Peltier cooler with [Peter's] own casting on the bottom. That casting will connect to the exhaust pipe and transfer heat to the Peltier while the other heat sink keeps the opposite side relatively cool. What results is a voltage between 600mV and 1V.

We’re not quite sure what the end product will be but the casting process is fascinating. He carves the shape of the piece he wants to cast from Styrofoam and embeds it in a box of sand. He then melts salvaged aluminum in a cast iron frying pan using what looks like a propane torch. Once molten, he pours the aluminum into the mold and it burns away the Styrofoam as it fills the void. A little cleanup and he’s got the heat conductive mounting bracket he was after.
- Tags:
- aluminum
- peltier cooler
- classic hacks
- casting
- exhaust
February 23 2010, 10:00am | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Steorn Orbo motor replica

http://hackaday.com/2010/02/21/steorn-orbo-motor-replica/

Reader [Hjhndr] ran across an interesting set of tests and wanted to know if they’re brilliant or just a load of bull. We’re not making the call on that, but the tests on a Steorn Orb motor replica are worth looking at.Keep in mind, people used to think the earth was flat and scientists of the time would have sworn up and down that’s the way things were.

The Steorn Orbo is a motor that generates more power than is put into it. At least according to Steorn Limited that’s what it does. An independent panel of scientists said otherwise a few years back but that didn’t stop the company from showing off the concept a few more times, most recently a showing in Dublin ended this month.

So anyway, [Jean-Louis Naudin] took what he saw from those demonstrations and built a replica. He’s made several papers about the principle as well as his testing available online. There’s a lot of math, a little bit of smoke and mirrors, and several videos. Take a look and let us know what you think in the comments.
- Tags:
- green hacks
- classic hacks
- free energy
- orbo
- steorn
February 21 2010, 7:55am | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Spectrum analyzer wedged into a cellphone

http://hackaday.com/2010/02/12/spectrum-analyzer-wedged-into-a-cellphone/

[Miguel A. Vallejo] wanted a portable spectrum analyzer for the 2.4GHz ISM band. No problem, there’s modules for that are easy to interface with a microcontroller and LCD screen. But carrying around a black project box doesn’t exactly scream ‘cool’ so he fit his spectrum analyzer inside of a cell phone. This made a lot of things easier for him; he already had a few old phones, he was able to use both the original battery and the original LCD screen, and a lot of the mounting work is already done for you. The only challenge was to fit his custom circuitry inside. By hacking off part of the CYWM6935 module and cutting some protoboard in the same shape as the original PCB he managed to get everything into this tiny portable package. Now he’s looking for a way to incorporate a charger, and an on/off switch.

If you don’t have an old cell phone sitting around you can try building a spectrum analyzer that uses a character display. But we’d suggest hitting up your friends for their old cellphones. The screens are used in all kinds of fun projects.
- Tags:
- nokia
- wireless hacks
- lcd
- classic hacks
- 24
- 3410
- cywm6935
- spectrum analyzer
February 12 2010, 2:41pm | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Teletype machine from an electric typewriter

http://hackaday.com/2010/02/11/teletype-machine-from-an-electric-typewriter/

This project, by an unknown hacker, patches into an electric typewriter and uses it as a Teletype. An AVR ATmega168 microcontroller patches into the key matrix of the typewriter which allows it to artificially type. Now, data can be sent over a serial connection to the AVR for output on the typewriter.

We’re not quite sure what this is going to be used for. We’ve seen hacks like this for Twitter reading in the past but he makes no mention of that type of use. Personally, we’d like to have this just to “print” out the occasional letter. Typewriters are so rarely used these days it would be a bit peculiar to get a letter that has the dimpled impressions associated with slamming a die into a piece of paper.
- Tags:
- peripherals hacks
- ATmega168
- AVR
- serial
- typewriter
- classic hacks
- teletype
February 11 2010, 4:00pm | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

HUD for real life capture-the-flag

http://hackaday.com/2010/02/11/hud-for-real-life-capture-the-flag/

If you’ve played any of the Splinter Cell games you’ll remember the PDA that [Sam Fisher] carried around with him. What if you could have one of your own when playing capture-the-flag? [Brad] has created the ZephyrEye as an electronic command and communications device for real-life games.

Each player carries around their own unit. The ZephyrEye has a GPS module, Xbee module, LCD screen, and control buttons. This allows a player to setup one of several different games, map out the game field including base locations and flag locations, and monitor a time limit and scoring. Other players can join the game in progress. The best part? The GPS modules report tracking to each handheld and act as radar for your team and the enemy team. We’ve got a couple of demo videos after the break.

Words can’t describe how delighted this would have made us back in the day. We don’t play outside with the other neighborhood kids anymore (insert dirty-old-man joke here) but that might change just because of this device. We may end up joining [Barney Stinson] for some amazingly awesome laser-tag games after all.

[Brad's] posted hardware information and source code so that you can use to throw together a dozen or so units. We think the next version should incorporate a wearable display.

[via Tom's Guide]
- Tags:
- Toy Hacks
- xbee
- gps
- gps hacks
- classic hacks
- radar
- hud
- zephyreye
February 11 2010, 1:00pm | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

‘tiny’ power supply monitor

http://hackaday.com/2010/02/09/tiny-power-supply-monitor/

[Manekinen] built a power supply monitor based around an AVR ATtiny13. Voltage and amperage are displayed on a 16×2 LCD character display (we’re not sure what the third number is… samples per second?). This is no small feat considering that the tiny13 is an 8-pin chip. He makes it happen by using the pins for both LCD control and ADC input. To make this happen the HD44780 compliant display is used in 4-bit mode. Check out the video after the break and hit up the non-translated page if you want to download the source code and PCB artwork. A note of warning, he’s using the RESET pin for I/O which means once you burn the fuses you’ll need a programmer that has High Voltage Serial Programming capabilities if you want to reprogram the chip.

[Thanks RicoElectrico]
- Tags:
- AVR
- tool-hacks
- attiny13
- power supply
- high voltage
- psu
- hd44780
- classic hacks
- hvsp
February 9 2010, 6:17am | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Modded C64 eye candy

http://hackaday.com/2010/02/08/modded-c64-eye-candy/

“Everyone needs a hobby,” they tell us. For the blogger mysteriously identified only as “R,” that hobby would be an almost fanatical nostalgia for the Commodore 64 computer.

At first we thought this was a fan community site, but apparently it’s all the work of a single person. [R] has tweaked, extended, repackaged and resurfaced this 1980’s icon in nearly every imaginable way. They tend to gloss over the technical aspects of these mods, but that’s okay – the C64 is such an exhaustively documented system now that the site dwells mainly on the aesthetics and meaning of these reborn devices.

The 64 has made an indelible impression on electronic music, and the machines are still sought after by collectors, composers and circuit-benders. [R] pays homage by housing these vintage systems in styles reminiscent of even vintage-er synthesizers. Any one of these would warrant a post here, yet there’s a whole collection to browse. Check it out!

[via Retro Thing]
- Tags:
- digital audio hacks
- Retro
- synth
- synthesizer
- casemod
- Vintage
- c64
- commodore
- classic hacks
- 64
- mod
- case
February 8 2010, 4:00pm | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Hardware based randomness for Linux

http://hackaday.com/2010/02/06/hardware-based-randomness-for-linux/

True randomness can be hard to come by in the digital world. [Andy Green] is making it easier to get true entropy by using this random USB dongle. The Whirlygig uses a CPDL to gather data from a set of of oscillators. The oscillators have a constantly fluctuating frequency due to temperature changes; if they run faster they generate more heat which in turn slows them down. This, along with the variable latency associated with polling a USB device, gives great depth of randomness. The device is detected and mounted under ‘/dev/hw_random’ and can then be fed into ‘/dev/random’ using the rng-tools package. [Andy's] done a lot of testing, both on the hardware, and on the quality of randomness. We didn’t see an option to order this but he’s got hardware and firmware repositories so that you can throw one together yourself.

[Thanks Zunk]
- Tags:
- random
- linux hacks
- classic hacks
- andy green
- cpdl
- entropy
- whirlygig
February 6 2010, 10:27am | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Pre-spun hard drives

http://hackaday.com/2010/02/05/pre-spun-hard-drives/

This device is lovingly called the SPINmaster. [Linux-works] built it to spin up multiple hard drives before the motherboard starts up. It detects the power-up from the PSU and uses a relay to hold the motherboard in reset, indicated by the red LED. Each of four relays then spins up a hard drive and illuminates the green LED when ready. Once all green lights come on the reset relay shuts off and the bios starts up. This type of staggered startup takes a lot of the load off of an under-powered PSU. He’s posted firmware and there’s a schematic available too. We took a look at his video but there’s not much to see as it’s just the inside of the machine while it boots up.
- Tags:
- misc hacks
- hdd
- relay
- psu
- classic hacks
- staggered
February 5 2010, 2:07pm | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Repurposing a click wheel

http://hackaday.com/2010/02/05/repurposing-a-click-wheel/

We think the click wheel is the biggest contributor to the success of the original iPods. The devices were a brick with a monochrome screen but the user interface was slick and easy to use. [Jason] decided he wanted to add a click wheel to his own project. After using a logic analyzer he discovered that it doesn’t implement a common protocol such as I2C, perhaps a deliberate move by Apple to keep the controller under wraps? He managed to get past this hurdle, as seen in the video after the break, by bit-banging the data in from the click wheel and then reverse engineering the protocol.

It’s connected to an AVR ATtiny88 with feedback shown on a character LCD screen. We’re glad that [Jason] tipped us off about this, but he doesn’t have any code available yet. We love to dive into the source so the sooner he gets it up the better! We’ve got an old 3rd generation with a bad board that is begging to have the wheel ripped out of it, not to mention the dirt-cheap replacements available on ebay.
- Tags:
- AVR
- iPod
- ipod hacks
- classic hacks
- attiny88
- click wheel
February 5 2010, 11:46am | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Propeller takes Step-a-Sketch to a new level

http://hackaday.com/2010/02/04/propeller-takes-step-a-sketch-to-a-new-level/

[Mpark's] propeller controlled Etch-a-Sketch is well built and very accurate. He was inspired by the Step-a-Sketch project and he’s carried that design through to a stunning conclusion. The driver board was built around a Parallax Propeller P8X32A microcontroller. But this isn’t just a serial controller board for connecting the hardware to a PC running CNC software. He’s included TV out and a keyboard port so that programming can be done on the chip itself.

In the video after the break you can see how precise the plotting is on the Etch-a-Sketch. It is well mounted but also benefits from some software compensation for the toy’s imprecise controls. [Mpark] has also included an erase function that tilts the frame upside-down a few times. This is used not only to erase a drawing but to hide the line created when moving the stylus into its starting position.
- Tags:
- Toy Hacks
- cnc
- propeller
- etch a sketch
- cnc hacks
- stepper
- classic hacks
- p8x32a
- propetcher
- Step-a-sketch
February 4 2010, 11:10am | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

IM-ME screen reverse engineered

http://hackaday.com/2010/02/01/im-me-screen-reverse-engineered/

[Dave] figured out the command set for the IM-ME terminal. It took a bit of sleuthing to get this pink plastic peripheral to give up these secrets. He used an oscilloscope to sniff out the SPI connections, then used a hacked IM-ME to capture the traffic from a factory-fresh unit. He managed to extrapolate how write data was being sent but he still couldn’t figure out how commands were differentiated from that data. With the info at hand he searched around the interwebs to find that the screen uses an ST7565S controller. Now he’s got custom firmware to make the LCD display do his bidding and we’re wondering what’s next?
- Tags:
- wireless
- handhelds hacks
- wireless hacks
- lcd
- spi
- classic hacks
- im-me
- st7565s
February 1 2010, 4:00am | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Adding a netbook keyboard light

http://hackaday.com/2010/01/28/adding-a-netbook-keyboard-light/

[Vikash] was having trouble using his netbook in the dark so he added a keyboard light. He’s got a Dell Vostro A90 which is the same hardware as the popular Dell Mini 9. We agree that the condensed keyboard layout makes it hard to type without looking; just try to find the quotation mark, brackets, and tilde keys! He added an LED to the bezel around the LCD screen in order to shed light on the situation. Now the LED can be turned on using CTRL. An ATtiny13 microcontroller monitors pins 1 and 11 of the keyboard, waiting for the CTRL keypress, then turns on the light when it receives it. This hardware solution means it doesn’t matter if you’re running a Hackintosh (like he is), Ubuntu (like we are), or that other OS.
- Tags:
- keyboard
- dell
- light
- hackintosh
- mini 9
- led hacks
- vostro a90
- classic hacks
January 28 2010, 12:37pm | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

10,000 watt fluorescent array

http://hackaday.com/2010/01/28/10000-watt-fluorescent-array/

This is an array of flourescent tubes that form a display. The video above is just two modules of a ten module installation that [Valentin] and his team are showing at an exhibition in Berlin tomorrow. The connected modules form something of a scrolling 16-segment display (similar to the 17 segment display modules of the ninja party badges but much larger). They’re using triacs, optocouplers, DMX, and an Arduino to interface a computer with the 182 fluorescent tubes of the display. Check out a second video after the break to see (or be blinded by) all ten modules pulling 10,000 watts.
- Tags:
- arduino
- fluorescent
- classic hacks
- 16 segment
- 17 segment
- optocoupler
- TRIAC
January 28 2010, 9:40am | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Nanotouch: a tiny AVR media thing

http://hackaday.com/2010/01/27/nanotouch-a-tiny-avr-media-thing/

[Rossum] is at it again. This time, he has created a super tiny media device to get us drooling. You might recall him from the 8-bit device we showed you before. The Nanotouch is roughly the dimensions of a 96×64 OLED screen(slightly larger than a quarter), with about 1/3 to 1/2 of an inch of stuff packed behind it. The screen itself is mounted atop 4 buttons. This allows you to depress the screen edges for navigation. He does mention that this design needs a little work to prolong the life of the screen, but we really like the intuitive way of navigating. At its heart is an ATmega32u4.

We thought his last version was fantastic, but this one has us enamored. He states he’ll publish schematics and code, as he did before. We just didn’t want to wait to share.

[thanks Joakim]
- Tags:
- atmega
- AVR
- handhelds hacks
- classic hacks
- media
- yoomp
January 27 2010, 10:00am | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Powering a switch via PoE

http://hackaday.com/2010/01/26/powering-a-switch-via-poe/

[Kajer] was doing some work with IP phones that use Power over Ethernet. While trying to get this to work with a network switch he decided to use PoE to power the switch itself. The best thing about this is he managed to shoehorn all of the necessary bits into the stock case. Those bits include a bridge rectifier, transistor, resistor, and a 5v power supply. Along the way he discovered he can now power the switch off of USB if he wishes.
- Tags:
- ip
- switch
- phone
- PoE
- classic hacks
- power over ethernet
January 26 2010, 5:00pm | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

C64 interface for your computer

http://hackaday.com/2010/01/23/c64-interface-for-your-computer/

Before we get started, lets just point out that this C64 was broken. He did not take a functional C64 out of operation for this. What he did do, was to build a hardware interface for for his VICE system. For those unfamiliar, VICE is a cross platform C64 emulator. [Simon] points out that the old games just weren’t as much fun without the original hardware. Having a broken C64 lying around, he put it to good use. It now acts as the interface for all the original fun stuff.

If you are a fan of the hardware, but just want to interface it as a normal USB keyboard, that is possible as well.
- Tags:
- peripherals hacks
- pcs hacks
- c64
- commodore
- classic hacks
- comodore
January 23 2010, 10:06am | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Steampunk Nixie clock

http://hackaday.com/2010/01/11/steampunk-nixie-clock/

This single-digit Nixie clock is a thing of beauty. You might hate Steampunk or you might love it, but you have to respect projects where the design gets equal (or more) consideration compared to the function. The electronics used in the project build upon an existing single Nixie design. Instead of hiding the guts inside the clock the PCB has been laid out to augment the design. We think [Blue Metal] hit it out of the park with this one!
- Tags:
- home hacks
- steampunk
- clock
- nixie
- nixie tube
- classic hacks
January 11 2010, 2:00pm | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

194 Transistor Clock will blow your mind

http://hackaday.com/2010/01/11/194-transistor-clock-will-blow-your-mind/

It’s nice to have tip put on our desks that we think everyone, yes everyone can enjoy. The Transistor Clock is just as its name implies, A clock that doesn’t rely on ICs. 194 Transistors, 400 resistors, 566 diodes, and 87 capacitors are all that makes this clock tick – no programing, and most importantly no Arduino. The clock is offered as a kit, but there is a complete parts list and manual (including debugging help) so anyone can build (and fix) their own. The Transistor Clock might even beat out the VFD Clock and the Word Clock on the ‘pure awesome’ scale, tell us your favorite in the comments.

[Thanks Hoopstar]
- Tags:
- misc hacks
- clock
- diode
- resistor
- capacitor
- classic hacks
- transistor
January 11 2010, 9:37am | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Generate electricity with a candle

http://hackaday.com/2010/01/05/generate-electricity-with-a-candle/

What you see above is a generator that converts heat to electricity. [Reukpower's] thermoelectric lamp is one of those hacks that makes you scratch your head even though you understand why it should work. The heart of the system uses a Peltier cool, just like the thermoelectric solar generator. When there is a temperature differential from one side of the Peltier to the other a small current is generated.

In this case a candle heats one side and a heat sink cools the other. The tiny voltage picked up from the Peltier’s contacts is then boosted using a joule thief. We’ve seen LEDs powered with a joule thief before, benefiting from their own low power consumption. In this case, the boost circuit is scavenged from an emergency phone charger and probably achieves higher efficiency than if he had built it himself.
- Tags:
- candle
- peltier
- generator
- peltier cooler
- green hacks
- classic hacks
- heat sink
- joule thief
January 5 2010, 1:00pm | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

NES RAM Replacement

http://hackaday.com/2010/01/04/nes-ram-replacement/

[Spatula Tzar] Turned on her NES one day to find it no longer working. Off went the case and out came the oscilloscope. After probing around for a bit, she found that one of the RAM chips was very hot. She hot aired off the bad chip implementing an “Impenetrable Aluminum Heat Shield of Science” to protect the rest of the components. In the chip’s place she soldered a wide DIP socket for which the NES engineers had thoughtfully left a place. Then, using a 128Mbit SRAM SOIC, she soldered it to 0.100″ headers to fit in the socket. As the original chip was only 16Mbit, unused address lines are tied high or low. The console is now fully functional again. Also checkout the comments on Oldschool NES ‘repair’ how-to.
- Tags:
- nintendo
- nes
- nintendo hacks
- classic hacks
January 4 2010, 1:50pm | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

TOBI the tool bot

http://hackaday.com/2010/01/04/tobi-the-tool-bot/

[TheGrue] has put together this great writeup on how he built TOBI, the tool carrying robot. Inspired by a story he read about a robot that could follow people around, using heat sensors, he decided he wanted to do something similar. His robot would carry his tools, in this case, the tools of an IT professional. Not only would it carry his tools, but surely it would give him credit as a techno-guru to have a scratch built robot following him around.

His build process is documented quite well. He approached this in a fashion where he set several iterations. Each step would add a feature and carry the old features forward. It looks as if he’s currently working on step 3, which means that the chassis has already been built, the drive train is working, it can be remote controlled, and now has some level of autonomy thanks to a propeller controller. Up next are some range finders and an assortment of other sensors so that TOBI won’t drive off any steps, or into any walls.

[via hackedgadgets]
- Tags:
- robots hacks
- robot
- platform
- classic hacks
January 4 2010, 10:30am | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

BT phone is much more than retrofit

http://hackaday.com/2010/01/04/bt-phone-is-much-more-than-retrofit/

[Santiago] turned his Ericfon into a Bluetooth phone. This is completely different from the handset retrofits we looked at last month. This is because he didn’t simply crack open a BT headset and cram it into his phone. He developed his own hardware for full functionality.

This is an open source project with available hardware details that he intends to turn into a kit. [Santiago] has purposed a PIC microcontroller to connect with a WT32 bluetooth module. The PIC allows for a dial tone, dialing with the original rotary dial, and produces the original sound when the phone rings. What he now has is a way to have a home phone without a landline. As seen the video after the break, the Ericfon works the same as it did when it was new, except the connection is made through Bluetooth and not via a copper phone line.
- Tags:
- cellphones hacks
- pic
- bluetooth
- phone
- classic hacks
- phone hacks
- WT32
January 4 2010, 9:00am | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

FPGA keyboard synthesizer

http://hackaday.com/2010/01/01/fpga-keyboard-synthesizer/

This synthesizer relies solely on an FPGA for key detection and sound synthesis. [Chris] and [Joe] built it for their final project at Cornell. The hardware implementation includes velocity sensing for the keys. While at rest, each key contacts a strip of copper foil. A matching strip of foil contacts the key when it is depressed. The velocity data is extrapolated by detecting when a key leaves the rest state and arrives at the depressed state. Sound synthesis is handled in hardware using the Karplus-Strong string synthesis method. If you want to hear what it sounds like, they’ve posted a video (MP4) that shows off the creation. It sounds like an electric piano to us, so mission accomplished.
- Tags:
- keyboard
- digital audio hacks
- synthesizer
- fpga
- classic hacks
- Karplus-Strong
- sythensis
January 1 2010, 1:00pm | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Pinball build throws down the gauntlet

http://hackaday.com/2009/12/31/pinball-build-throws-down-the-gauntlet/

[Jeri Ellsworth] is building her own pinball machine. Her build log is delivered in the form of daily videos that walk through the progress. In addition to seeing the intricate ramps, traps, and controllers she outlines her build techniques. These include reproducing parts based on old pinball machines and bending acrylic with a custom tool or a toaster oven.

The driver she’s planning to use is an Altera FPGA with a bunch of FETs to control the heavy-load components. There’s not a ton of info on the actual electronics but we had a heck of a fun time looking at the creative field components. Our favorite by far is the television from Day 7. The screen is translucent with a rear projected image. When the ramp in front of it is raised the pinball can be jumped right through the screen!

We couldn’t find a project page for this but we’ve embedded [Jeri's] videos after the break.

Day 8

Day 7

Day 6

Day 5

Day 4

Day 3

Sorry, can’t seem to find the video for Day 2.

Day 2

Day 1
- Tags:
- home entertainment hacks
- fpga
- jeri ellsworth
- pinball
- classic hacks
- Altera
- fet
December 31 2009, 10:00am | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

UAV reigns down vengeance upon thee

http://hackaday.com/2009/12/30/uav-reigns-down-vengeance-upon-thee/

An unemployed electrical engineer can be a very dangerous thing. [Cybrown] has turned his skills toward darker, more awesome applications by building an armed unmanned aerial vehicle. This is a remote control airplane that has a movable camera mounted in the cockpit. Video and GPS data are sent back to the pilot who views the picture via a wearable display. We’re betting this doesn’t have the range that the 100km UAV did, but that’s good because this one brings doom from the skies. Check the wings in the picture above, this RC is fireworks-enable. We’ve embedded flight footage and attack video after the break.

Update: Here is a forum post covering this nugget of awesome. There are just a few details but the entire thread is interesting. Someone pointed this out in the comments but they don’t get credit because they didn’t leave a link.

Flight demo

Launching fireworks

[Thanks Jonathan]
- Tags:
- wireless
- camera
- wireless hacks
- remote control
- rc
- fireworks
- uav
- classic hacks
December 30 2009, 1:49pm | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

PS3 wireless visual interface

http://hackaday.com/2009/12/29/ps3-wireless-visual-interface/

[Technott's] at it again, this time extending the Playstation 3 with a wireless interface. This handheld isn’t actually a PS3. It provides a wireless connection to your PS3 to receive audio and video, as well as to manage controller data. Think of it as a wirelessly tethered handheld that allows you to play Playstation when your wife is watching the Real Housewives. This is similar in size to his Xbox 360 WVI but the case shape and appearance are a big step up (not that we disliked that one). We’ve embedded a video tour of the device after the break.

[Thanks Trina]
- Tags:
- wireless
- handhelds hacks
- playstation hacks
- handheld
- xbox 360
- ps3
- playstation 3
- classic hacks
December 29 2009, 5:40pm | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Zilog in a matchbox

http://hackaday.com/2009/12/27/zilog-in-a-matchbox/

Now you can have a Zilog computer in the form factor of a matchbox. The RamBlade is a tiny PCB that uses a Parallax Propeller IC to implement the CP/M language. The OS is stored on a microSD card, with a four-pin serial interface (3V3, GND, SO, SI) that allows operation via a terminal program.

Smaller and more resilient than building your own from ancient logic chips, we see this a way to get a whole new set of people interested in this old technology.

[Thanks Oldbitcollector]
- Tags:
- pcs hacks
- propeller
- cpm
- z80
- classic hacks
- zilog
- RamBlade
December 27 2009, 2:51pm | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Freerunner with Android, new case, battery

http://hackaday.com/2009/12/27/freerunner-with-android-new-case-battery/

[Dennis] got snowed in after the biggest storm in the history of the state hit. Like any good hacker he didn’t let the time go to waste. He decided to dig out his Neo Freerunner to give it a decent battery and a new OS.

The original battery for the Freerunner has a controller board integrated into the package. [Dennis] pulled out the board and attached it to a portable DVD player battery. After running it through a discharge cycle with another hack of his, the board learned the new battery capacity. The larger battery plus a fast-charger from SparkFun required a larger case. He made it happen by combining a 2.5″ HDD case with the original body courtesy of some JB weld. The final portion of the hack was to load up Android which is as simple as untarring the package onto an SD card.

It’s a bit big, but the battery will last and he’s got an open platform. Nice work!
- Tags:
- hdd
- battery
- android hacks
- classic hacks
- anroid
- enclosure
- freerunner
December 27 2009, 1:23pm | More »
I posted to hackaday.com

Accessing BGA pins

http://hackaday.com/2009/12/17/accessing-bga-pins/

[Philip] developed a method of tracking down the pins of a Ball Grid Array. He wanted to do so in order to add USB host functionality to his HP Jordan 720. The method doesn’t directly connect to the BGA but instead finds a via or other access point to serve as a solder point. He first looks up the pin in the BGA datasheet. Once located, he uses the bristle of a toothbrush (teal) to act as a backstop and feeds in some enameled wire (brown) to the appropriate ball. A multimeter is used to check connectivity between the wire and the vias around the chip.

Patience young grasshopper, this should work but it might take a while.
- Tags:
- usb host
- bga
- classic hacks
- ball grid array
- via
December 17 2009, 3:00pm | More »

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