Author Archives: the machinegeek

Hacking wireless radiator valves with GNU Radio

In an effort to better proportion the heating system in his house, Mike Stirling decided to use Conrad FHT8V wireless thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs) to control heat distribution in zones. He decided to analyze the valve’s 868 MHz control signals using his RTL-SDR dongle and GNU Radio. After discovering that the protocol uses simple on-off […]

Daisho open source multitool for phy layer monitoring

At the recently concluded TROOPERS13 conference in Heidelberg, Germany, presenters Michael Ossmann and Dominic Spill revealed the details on their Project Daisho, an open source hardware and software project to build a device that can monitor high speed communication links and pass all of the data back to a host system for analysis. They describe, […]

Reverse engineering a wireless burglar alarm

Cybergibbon has been working on reversing the digital protocol used by a wireless alarm system he recently acquired. He began by observing the alarm sensor’s signal using first an RF Explorer, then using RTL-SDR and SDR# to record the signal, which he analyzed with Audacity. Next, he cracked open the sensor itself to investigate the […]

Arduino Pong game

Pong is the classic video game, essentially the “Hello world” of gaming development. James Bruce, working at the parhaat uudet nettikasinot company, has developed a simple implementation of Pong for the Arduino which requires the addition of only an RCA jack, two 10K potentiometers, a pushbutton and a handful of resistors. The video output is […]

Processing 2.0 released

Processing version 2.0 is available for download. “The Processing 2.0 release focuses on faster graphics, new infrastructure for working with data, and enhanced video playback and capture. It also expands the potential of the programming environment. The new Modes feature allows other programming systems, such as JavaScript and Android, to be easily used from within […]

SIDCog v1.3 produces C64 sound on Propeller

Johannes Ahlebrand has released version 1.3 of SIDCog. This Spin language object emulates the famous sound chip in the Commodore 64 running in a single Propeller cog. The developer reports it’s much closer to the 8580 than the 6581 when it comes to filter emulation and combined waveforms. Features include a 31kHz sample rate, >16bit […]

Live DVD includes Ubuntu + GNU Radio

Per our friends at RTL-SDR.com, there is now a live DVD downloadable which includes Ubuntu Linux 12.04 along with GNU Radio and other pre-installed SDR related programs. The necessary libraries for OsmoSDR, RTL-SDR and HackRF hardware are also included. The Live DVD is only available for 64-bit CPUs. Check out the release notes for more […]

HDMI current booster fixes Raspberry Pi video instability

Orlando Cosimo with Creativity/Design blog was experiencing instability problems with the HDMI output on the Raspberry Pi which are typical when using an HDMI to VGA adapter. He devised this solution using three resistors and an LM317 voltage regulator. Orlando states, “This addon hardware extends a past project and it allow to increase the flow […]

Announcing PyBOMBS GNU Radio installation tool

The GNU Radio development team announces their new Python Build Overlay Managed Bundle System (PyBOMBS). If you’ve ever tried to install GNU Radio for use with the RTL-SDR or other software defined radio, you know it can be a hit or miss proposition. Depending on your OS and distro, it an be either flawless or […]

BSidesRI video: modding the TP-Link WR703N router

At the recent BSidesRI conference in Rhode Island, USA, James Edge presented an overview of the TP-Link WR703N wireless router, and how it is modifiable akin to the WRT54G. (The manufacturer’s website does not contain documentation for the 703N. The linked doc is for the 702N, which has many of the same features and functions […]

What is tomographic motion detection?

Recognizing the shortcomings of traditional PIR and ultrasonic sensors used in alarm systems, security researcher Connected Ape decided to explore other options. He discovered this patent for a mesh system of RF nodes, designed to detect the presence of humans based on changes in the baseline signal strength between nodes. While such commercial systems are […]

Open SmartWatch Project: Arduino tool chain (alpha)

We recently posted about the Sony Open SmartWatch project. Since then, Arduino enthusiasts and Sony have been working on a proof of concept for how SmartWatch could be setup to work in an Arduino environment. As a result of these efforts, the Arduino crew have published a GitHub project that includes an alpha version of […]

BotQueue open source 3d printer over web control software

Developer Zach Hoeken and his friends at BotQueue have released the code for their software which allows 3D printer conrol over the internet. They call it BotQueue. BotQueue lets you control multiple 3D printers through the Internet and turn them into your own manufacturing center. Think cloud-based computing, but for making things in the real […]

Open electroencephalography

Michael Paul Coder obtained his first printed circuit board from Olimex and started with the OpenEEG project years ago, but only recently started dabbling in the measurement of brain waves while dreaming. He’s managed to build a device which can comfortably record brainwaves during sleep. He’s taken that a step further and established the Lucid […]

The Turbo Entabulator – a 3D-printable, fully mechanical computer

Chris Fenton has released the files allowing you to build your own 3D printable mechanical computer. This is is a simple, 3D-printable (caveat: It requires some springs, bearings, rubber bands, and nuts/bolts), fully-mechanical computer. It has 3, single-digit base-10 counters for memory, and processes a chain of 10-position punch cards. With the included program, it […]

How to ID your Arduino board

Which Arduino boards are commonly in use and how do you distinguish one from another? Alex Castle has posted a roundup of the most common Arduino boards on the market right now, with tips on how to distinguish between them based on processing capabilities, feature sets and form factor. This summary should be helpful to […]

Online source lets you send and receive Enigma cipher comms

The Enigma machine was a World War II era encryption device used by the German army. It was the subject of substantial efforts by Allied cryptographers which finally resulted in the successful cracking of the code, which led to decryption of German military comms. We found this website which allows you to encode and decode […]

Sony Open SmartWatch project

Sony’s SmartWatch is an Android compatible watch based on an ARM Cortex-M3 CPU, STM32F205RGY6, from STMicroelectronics and includes Bluetooth capability and a touchscreen. It retails for around $100. Previously, developers could create apps for SmartWatch with the Sony Add-on SDK, but Sony is now opening up the project to allow hackers to create and flash […]