Courtney Lancaster gave this talk at Shmoocon 2014 outlining the types of information available from vehicle infotainment systems “This talk will take an in-depth look at infotainment technologies and how to forensically acquire the data associated with the functionalities that exist across various manufacturers. Furthermore, we will cover the challenges of conducting digital forensics on […]
Author Archives: the machinegeek
Free online course: Introduction to Linux
“The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the growth of Linux and collaborative development, has announced it is building a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) program with edX, the nonprofit online learning platform launched in 2012 by Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). More than 31 universities have partnered with edX […]
Creating a Spotify remote with an Arduino and LCD shield
Steven from Hackshed writes about their latest project. We have put together a Spotify remote using an Arduino and LCD Shield; it uses a .NET application as a controller and communicates with the Arduino to take input via push buttons and output to the LCD. Project details are available from Hackshed.co.uk.
Hak5 video: quadcopter with WiFi enabled Linux computer and RTL-SDR
What happens when you send up a quadcopter equipped with a Linux box, WiFi and an RTL-SDR dongle? Darren and company from Hak5 decided to find out. Their project used the SDR to receive ADS-B signals from aircraft hundreds of miles away. The Hak5 team took a quadcopter up on top of a high mountain, […]
30c3 video: hacking RFID public access control systems
In this video from the 30th Chaos Communications Congress, Adrian Dabrowski lectured on RFID based access control systems which are becoming common in Europe. These systems debuted in 2006 and use RFID cards as a substitute for a previous mechanical key system to allow emergency service, delivery and other personnel unassisted access to the common […]
Review: building publicLab’s DIY spectroscopy kit
Rohit writes, I made a Opensource Spectroscope using the publiclab’s kit. I was surprised to see the kind of accuracy you can get from these easy to make Spectroscopes. I probed around a lot of light sources like LEDs, Sunlight, Tubelights and Bulbs. With LEDs I was able to estimate the forward drop in a […]
How to make your own custom GNU Radio blocks – the C++ way
If you’re a GNU Radio user you know that most of the functions you need are contained the stock group of GNU Radio blocks. However, there are times when you may want to code up a custom block to perform a unique function not found on the stock blocks. Jean-Benoit Larouche has posted the first […]
Video: using NRF24L01+ wireless module with Arduino
The NRF24L01+ is a popular wireless communications module from Nordic that interfaces well with MCU applications. In this detailed video tutorial, Kevin Darrah outlines how to use it with the Arduino. Source code is available from Kevin Darrah’s website.
Arduino based auto trigger spray keeps cats at bay
Curiosity killed the cat, but this project only sprays them with water. Tinkernut posted this humorous project useful for animal control in the kitchen. It uses an Arduino/PIR combo to sense motion and activate the auto trigger on a Raid spray bottle (of course, after emptying and thoroughly cleaning the Raid bottle.) When strategically placed […]
Tutorial: power line communications
Andrianakis Haris produced this detailed article while completing a thesis toward a B.Sc in Department of Electronic Computer Systems Engineer at Technological Education Institute of Piraeus, Greece. “Power line comnunication (PLC) is the technology that allows data transmission over the existing Power Line network. Power Line can be the home power network or the national […]
DIY PCB manufacturing tips
Acidbourbon offers some tips on PCB manufacturing at home. I’ve been manufacturing my own PCBs in my basement now for more than two years. In this article I do not want to give yet another explanation of the toner transfer method, but give you an overview of the techniques that proved to be of value […]
Cypress PSoC4 chip sale
Cypress Semiconductor, makers of the popular PSOC4 Pioneer kit, are making their PSOC4 chips available for a limited time for $1.00 each, including free worldwide priority shipping. (Note, this price is for the chip alone, NOT the Pioneer Kit.) “PSoC4 is a scalable and reconfigurable platform architecturefor a family of mixed-signal programmable embedded system controllers […]
MIT wins prize for $20 robot
John Tarbox reports that MIT’s CSAIL team has won first place in the categories of hardware and curriculum for a printable, origami-inspired Segway robot, called SEG, at the “Ultra-Affordable Robot” competition sponsored by the African Robotics Network (AFRON) and the IEEE Robotics and Automaton Society. The robot can be built for about $20. Its made […]
March 29, 2014 is Arduino Day
March 29, 2014 marks the 10th anniversary of the Arduino and the team has marked the day for a worldwide celebration of Arduino’s first 10 years. “It’s 24 hours full of events – both official and independent, anywhere around the world – where people interested in Arduino can meet, share their experiences, and learn more.” […]
Arduino based ‘Etch A Sketch’ laser cutter
Martin Raynsford writes about his latest Arduino based project: We switched out the standard controller with an Arduino (just in time for Arduino day) and connected two rotary dials to directly manipulate the X and Y axis. As long as the laser only cuts while the axis are moving then we should avoid fires. We’ll […]
LemcUSB: software USB for EFM32ZG (ARM Cortex M0+)
Viswa informs us that the Lemcu.org crew have implemented a purely software based USB peripheral for ARM Cortex M0+ devices and a made a tiny Quick start board for EFM32ZG110 MCU. “This software enables Cortex M0+ devices to act as a Low speed USB device. It includes a lightweight USB & HID Stack and can […]
Arduino + NES controller = USB keyboard
Grouflon has written up a unique project using an Arduino and an NES controller. “This week I worked on little script/manipulation that turns an Arduino and a NES controller into a USB Keyboard. Maybe it can be of use to some of you, so feel free to grab the code on this github repo. This […]
Tutorial: solid state drives and Linux
Solid state drives (SSD) are gaining in popularity, particularly as components costs and machine form factors continue to shrink. In this article from Linux Journal online magazine, Brian Trapp gives an in depth presentation on the current state of SSD’s and their advantages and disadvantages in various Linux related operations.
Nutaq’s SDR project idea contest
Tristan Martin from Nutaq writes to inform us of their academic contest (US only) for winning a PicoSDR kit with MIMO OFDM ref design (FPGA), it supports GNU Radio (GigE and PCIe). “You can submit with an existing (ongoing) project, it doesn’t have to be a “new” project. We do NOT get involved in the […]
Video tutorial: OFDM packet transceivers with GNU radio
Orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing or OFDM is a method of encoding digital data on multiple carrier frequencies. At this presentation from them recent FOSDEM 2014 conference in Brussels, Martin Braun explained the use of GNU Radio software and an SDR transceiver to explore OFDM block basics, how to set up links between nodes and how to […]