Author Archives: the machinegeek

Videos: Propeller Con 2013

Attention Propellerheads! If you’re looking for something to fill up a lazy Summer day, look no further than the videos from the 2013 Propeller Conference. This con took place in May at the Parallax headquarters in Rocklin, CA, and featured presentations on all things Propeller, including the impending Propeller 2. If the above video leaves […]

RDS reception using RTL-SDR dongle

If you have a RTL-SDR dongle and Windows machine you might want to try out this simple project. It’s a proof of concept using an Ubuntu machine with GNU Radio Companion to obtain the RDS signal from the FM broadcast. Then the data is sent over TCP to a Windows 7 machine, running a .NET […]

TI announces sponsorship of Innovation World Cup challenge

TI has announced their participation as a sponsor in the Worldwie Innovation Cup competition: “For the fourth year in a row Texas Instruments have joined the Wearable Technologies Innovation World Cup where developers from all over the world are called to submit their innovative solutions for wearable devices. New ideas, products and prototypes can be […]

rompar: a tool to analyze masked ROMs

You may have seen those highly magnified photos of decapped chips displaying the hardware architecture and wondered what information is represented by the solder-like designs. Adam “Major Malfunction” Laurie of Aperature Labs has developed a software tool to assist in deciphering the bits represented in these highly magnified chip photos. Known as rompar, its a […]

panStamp developing MSP430 based module

panStamps are small open source wireless modules designed to add RF connectivity to sensors, MCUs and similar projects. The crew at panStamp is in the process of developing a new module based on the TI CC430F5137 SOC. Programming will be via the Arduino IDE, facilitated through a port being developed by the open sourceEnergia project. […]

Flight Simulator X – Arduino-driven autopilot controller

The Microsoft Flight Simulator X is a popular (though not open source) program used by many aeronautical enthusiasts and gamers. (There’s even a free trial version.) One aspect of the simulator is to allow the user to enter an autopilot mode, whereby various modes can be controlled using a 3D point-and-click interface. Practical use of […]

OISF 2013 video: reverse engineering demystified

Chris Eagle is a Senior Lecturer of Computer Science at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in Monterey, CA and worked as a computer engineer/scientist for 28 years. In this video he gives a step by step introduction to the process of software reversing and vulnerability discovery. Chris is a co-author of Gray Hat Hacking and […]

Use the TP-Link TL-WR703N to send Arduino sensor data

Recently we highlighted the TP-Link TL-WR703N in a post. Some makers have used a WiFi shield to allow an Arduino to communicate with this router, and others have used the router’s PCB as a shield bridging Ethernet to Wifi. Martin wanted to interface an Arduino with the router directly, so that it could be used […]

DIY RF Transceiver using MRF49XA and AT90USB162

William Dillon has posted his initial work on a prototype USB RF data packet Transceiver dongle using the MRF49XA and an Atmel AT90USB162 micro controller. He embarked on a journey exploring the development of packet formats and protocols, as well as types of error correction. This open source project’s details, code links, schematic and photos […]

TI announces CC1200 sub-1 GHz transceiver

TI has announced the pending release of the CC1200, the newest member of their family of sub-1GHz devices. This component specs a data rate of up to 1Mbps and supports all the IEEE 802.15.4g FSK modes with hardware packet handling, as well as hardware AES security support. It purports to offer full flexibility on RF […]

Altera’s free online technical training courses

Altera is making available a group of free online technical training courses covering the various aspects of FPGA design. Topics include the basics of programmable logic design, Verilog and VHDL basics, as well as introductory and advanced courses on the Quartus II IDE. You can check out the course listings at the Altera online training […]

Seeedstudio BareDuino Nano — smallest Arduino yet

Seeedstudio has announced what may be the smallest Arduino compatible board yet. The BareDuino Nano was designed by 15 year old maker Niek Blankers from the Netherlands, and sports the same processing power as Arduino Uno in a 21×14 mm footprint and includes an FTDI programming interface and on-board voltage regulator. The board’s pin spacing […]

TI wireless connectivity guide

With TI wireless devices being encountered from time to time in your hardware hacking it’s important to be able to recognize the types of chips and their associated capabilities. TI has a free Wireless Connectivity Guide available covering their offerings for various wireless technologies including mesh and IP networks, personal area networks, locationing, RF sub-1 […]

Diamond package from NXP, the world’s smallest logic package

Drone refers us to this short video from NXP on very small pitch parts (0.35mm) and the challenges in mounting them. NXP debuts their new Diamond package which they report is over 25 percent smaller than their XSON package (suffix GN), previously the world’s smallest package. The video point out that this design retains the […]