Andrejk uses an individually-controllable Christmas lights to indicate the presence of someone on his IM contact list. Via Hack a Day.
Category Archives: hacks
Gameboy VGA with FPGA
RivalCorp hacked a Gameboy to produce VGA output. Tapping into signals for Vsync, Hsync, clock, and two data pins, he piped them through an Altera Cyclone II FPGA (DE1 Development board) to produce VGA output. Via Hack a Day.
Electronics behind the homebrew TSA style scanner
Here Jeri Ellsworth concludes her presentations on a homebrew TSA type body scanner by focusing on the components and coding. An FPGA is used for processing of the video signal as an alternative to a PC. The use of a “virtual ground” is an interesting aspect of the signal amp circuit.
Hacking Kinect with a USB analyzer
Ladyada explores the Kinect protocol using a USB analyzer. While we know the Kinect has already been cracked, this is a good example of how USB analyzers can be a helpful (though costly) addition to a workbench.
Thermochromatic display
The Thermochromic paint clock displays the time using resistors coated in color changing paint. Hot resistors turn light gray to form each segment. Via Hack a Day.
Hacking RGB Christmas lights
Deep Darc has successfully reverse engineered the operation of a 50-light set of GE multicolor Christmas lights. His work involved snooping the protocol used on the LEDs data bus line and exploration of the remote control unit, resulting in source code allowing control of the display of colors and patterns by an Attiny13A. Via Wonderhowto.
TI Lauchpad composite video
Naturetm has published the details on how to produce composite video using the MSP430 found on the TI Launchpad. Just two resistors added to the Launchpad and their source code will get you monochrome NTSC video in 192×40 res! Via Hack A Day.
Taking RFID to the limits
Chris Paget presented a talk at Defcon 18 on RFID and the security implications of long range reading of enhanced driver licenses which have embedded 900 MHz RFID tags. The video is divided into four parts totaling about 45 minutes. In addition to part 1 above, here are links to parts 2-4: Part 2 Part […]
RFID spoofer with code and instructions
We’re looked at lots of RFID projects, but most don’t disclose the source code. There’s finally an RFID spoofer with source so we can see how the magic works. Via Hack a Day.
Using Kinect to capture video in 3D
Kreylos combined the color and the depth image captured by the Microsoft Kinect. Via the contact form.
Homemade TSA type body scanner
Geek guru Jeri Ellsworth is at it again, continuing with her exploration of homebrew radar devices. In this installment satellite dish hardware is interfaced with an FPGA to provide Via Hack A Day.
ZX Spectrum on FPGA
robots has been up to some fun FPGA hacking. He implemented a ZX Spectrum classic computer using the ZX Gate open source project: So i had this sparkfun FPGA board laying around. I needed to build some ram and interface boards to make it work. In mean time (while gathering all the ideas), my friend […]
USB Hacking with the Arduino
Here Collin’s Lab at Makezine explores the use of microcontrollers as USB host controllers. Very instructive and worth a look by anyone wanting to learn more about USB and its integration with microcontrollers. Via Makezine
uCalc DIY scientific calculator
EEVblog made an open source calculator with a PIC: PIC 24F 16 bit Processor, 256KB Flash, 16KB SRAM, 64KB serial flash user memory, 3-Axis tilt sensor, Micro SD card, capacitive touch sensing keypad, 128×64 dot matrix display. Via Adafruit.
Cheap Launchpad based motion detector camera
Here’s a hack combining a cheap digital camera body and PIR sensor to form a motion detector camera. The project is controlled by a MSP430 microcontroller found in the Launchpad kit. Via Instructables.
Ubertooth Zero Bluetooth sniffer
Ubertooth Zero is a Bluetooth sniffer based on an LPC1758 ARM processor and a CC2400 2.4GHz transceiver (now obsolete). Grab Bluetooth packets out of the air for analysis and hacking fun. Tonight I uploaded the first release of Project Ubertooth, an open source wireless development platform that can be used for Bluetooth testing and research. […]
Magnetic swipe card spoofer
Spoof a magnetic swipe card. Via Hacked Gadgets.
Reverse engineering an LCD
rossum guides us through reverse engineering several LCD displays. Via Hack a Day.
Reverse engineer an LED light bulb
Hack a Day is trying to reverse engineer a LED light bulb.
Bus Pirate on the iPhone
Bus Pirate hacking from a hacked iPhone: Ok so theres a couple of caveats… First, this was done with a v2go, this BP has the serial connection broken out to three pads, easy to connect to. No 5V in pad though, bummer. Second, you need a level shifter, the phone is 3.3V TTL, the BP […]