The unit is actually looking for 12V on the power pin (pin 1) of the USB cable. [Dave] searched for old AC adapters then came across one that match the voltage and also actual specs of the stock device. He as well got a dirty outdated motherboard and then plucked the USB ports away from the back. A bit of protoboard produces an excellent base to attach the AC adapter cables to the ports, which was then protected with one huge shrink tube. The actual result can be seen above, as well as showcased in the video clip.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: http://hackaday.com/2012/01/13/replacing-an-overheating-tablet-power-supply/

You don’t need to perform any hardware hacking to attach the 3 parts. The only additional preparation necessary is to reflash the router firmware with OpenWRT plus load it up with typical pen-testing software applications such as Netcrack and also Airhack.

[Kevin] calls this a drop box, since you find an Ethernet jack, plug it in, and drop it there. After that you can connect to the router through Wifi and start evaluating the wired network security measures. We’re certain images of espionage pop into your mind with that description, however we’re confident this can be beneficial in various ways too. Should you ever end up with an Ethernet connection yet no access to Wifi this is a easy solution to set up an AP.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: http://hackaday.com/2012/01/12/cheap-wifi-bridge-for-pen-testing-or-otherwise/

The four-pin gadget utilizes a 1-wire protocol. [Rajendra] talks about the details of the communications, showing the part utilizing a PIC 16F628. It’s simple to attach towards your project, requiring VCC, GND, as well as a pull-up resistor on the single data line.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: http://hackaday.com/2012/01/11/dht11-humidity-and-temperature-sensor-package/

This electronic solution  has a theoretical accuracy of +/-0.0014% salinity, but some serial dilution is required to bring the sample into its range.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: http://hackedgadgets.com/2012/01/11/diy-digital-salinometer/

Coolidge tube is the main component of his portable x-ray machine. This is a simple vacuum tube that produces x-rays with the help of 75 kilovolts of power. Two meters display the milliamps and kilovolts going to the x-ray tube, and a trio of nixies display the exposure time.

The absence of an x-ray film is not a problem with [Grenadier] for he can see through things with a scintillation screen that fluoresces when exposed to ionizing radiation.

The output of the x-ray was measured with a Geiger counter. Check out this amazing video [Grenadier] has created for us.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: http://hackaday.com/2012/01/01/see-through-everything-with-a-home-made-x-ray/

All you need are five ping pong balls, each backlit by a 10mm LED. The balls are lit one at a time by an Arduino, which illuminates each one for 15 seconds while the final minute of 2011 is counted down. Once midnight hits, a flashing “2012” sign illuminates while Auld Lang Syne plays from a tiny speaker.

Now to give a cool look, mount the LEDs and ping pong balls on the electron gun from a broken oscilloscope.

Watch the the ball drop in action in this video that we prepared. Happy New Year everyone!!!

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: http://hackaday.com/2011/12/30/build-your-own-mini-ball-drop-for-new-years-eve/

• a VRbot voice recognition module
• an AVR ATtiny2313
• a 433MHz RF send module
• low-cost wireless light swiches (or relays)

The core of this project is a VRbot speech recognition module. It recognizes 32 custom voice commands.  Once a command is recognized, a wireless switch is activated via a radio receiver.

Watch this cool video to learn more:

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: http://hackedgadgets.com/2011/12/28/diy-home-automation-using-voice-activated-commands/

[Andrew] helped a friend design a stage props for a local musical and ended up using his skills to build a lighted sign with some animation capabilities.

The original plan was to cut out letters for a sign by hand and ring them with white Christmas lights. It is possible to hand cut parts reasonably well, but [Andrew] wanted a much better result in less time so he decided to use a CNC ShopBot to make them. He didn’t know the spacing for the lights so waited and drilled holes for them by hand. Each strand is connected to a relay, then driven by an Arduino.

Watch this video clip to see how amazing this animated lighted sign is.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: http://hackaday.com/2011/12/25/one-way-to-reuse-your-christmas-lights-post-holiday/

The equipment relies on a light dependent resistor to record the hits every time a flashlight beam passes through the round window. It will only register one hit in a three-second time frame. The total number of hits recorded can be flashed back using an on-board LED at the end of the game to see the victor.

[Kenyer] started with a breadboard prototype using an Arduino as the driver. Obviously the cost of an Arduino for every player is a bit ridiculous. He scaled down the project, running the Arduino code on an ATtiny microcontroller.

A video clip was recorded to see how the system works.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: http://hackaday.com/2011/12/20/automatic-flashlight-tag-damage-sensor/

The door sensor is equipped with a very simple design. One part mounts to the door and has a magnet in it, the mating part mounts to the jamb and has a reed switch that closes a contact when the magnet is in place. The floor mat on the other hand,uses two sheets of conductive material separated by bits of foam. When it is stepped on a circuit is completed and can be sensed by the Xbee as a button press.

The sensor sends back a signal to an Arduino base station that has a buzzer and three 8×8 LED modules to scroll a message saying which sensor was tripped.

To help us fully understand how the system works, [Bill} created a video showing the proper configuration of the device.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: http://hackaday.com/2011/12/18/xbee-remote-sensors-tell-you-when-someone-enters-your-home/

To build the sensor we need the following materials:

• a breadboard (not required, but it is how I will walk you through it.)
• an RGB LED (alternatively you could use 3 LEDs)
• A 220 ohm resistor
• A CdS photocell (these can be salvaged out of all kinds of things like nightlights or garden lamps)
• An Arduino, or a clone. We are using a RBB in this example.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: http://hackedgadgets.com/2011/12/16/diy-color-detection-using-an-rgb-led/

Volkwagen’s latest  tv ad has inspired [Achu Wilson] to create a small scale self parking car. The Passat is equipped with a park assist mode. This essentially allows the car to park itself with little to no user intervention.

The car is  built from wood and is powered by  a pair of DC motors with a single infrared proximity sensor. Instead of building  a vehicle that could parallel park, he settled on creating one that can situate itself in a traditional parking spot.

As a proof of concept, it looks to work pretty well despite the fact that it only has a single fixed sensor navigate its surroundings. We imagine it would be a relatively easy task to adapt the system for parallel parking, among other things.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: http://hackaday.com/2011/12/15/build-your-own-miniature-self-parking-car/

This time, he hacked a picture frame into a video monitor displaying the live image from a webcam.

Have a peek.

Ryan from New-Zealand send us a nice writeup about his custom-made kitchen computer that apparently made his wife real happy.

Check it out.

Usual disclaimer: Please remember that as with any project involving mains power, make sure you know what you’re doing and  do it safely, or don’t. Also respect your local laws and building code.

This cool project turns a boring Ikea lamp into a theremin-like synth. Pretty cool. I really like the updated instructions — but real instructions would be nice too. I guess this is more a show piece than a how-to. Nonetheless, it can still inspire someone so I’m posting it anyways.

One thing I’d add is a switch so that the lamp can still be used as a plain lamp. Flick the switch and it would turn into a noisy monster.

Sunnan Synth / ikea hack from Jan van Nuenen on Vimeo.

[ part 1 ] [ part 2 ] [ part 3 ] [ via ]

A nice USB to Serial Converter that you can build in your projects instead of using standalone external converters.

[ link ] [ via ] [ via ]

“Ring light is basically a light that is placed around the objective. In close-up and macro photography it covers the subject with even light that seems to come from all around the lense. This removes all the shadows from the surface of the object. A great thing if you are shooting a photo for a ring that you want to sell on ebay or some hardware close-ups for a review article.”

[ link ] [ via ]

Thinking of building the Moog VCF I posted yesterday? You might want to check out this post about using Cupric Chloride to etch PCBs.

Usual disclaimers apply.

[ link ]

Robert Moog, may he rest in peace, invented a legendary voltage-controlled filter (VCF). It’s the low-pass filter that gives the MiniMoog its characteristic sound. YUSynth has published the schematics, parts list and PCB layout for the MiniMoog VCF.

[ link ] [ via ]