Mike Ryan writes about his latest efforts in BLE hacking.
Hot on the heels of Omri Iluz’s BLE-sniffer-on-the-cheap, I decided to write up the BLE sniffer I built on Ubertooth. My sniffer highly robust, can capture data from connections, and is 100% open source. I also discovered a vulnerability in BLE’s crypto that allows me to crack its encryption key and decrypt traffic — 100% passively.
Here’s a link to the blog post.
Via the contact form.
Charles writes:
The NCO code worked great and was easy to set up. I used a simple loop to have it sweep a frequency… dumped the output of NCO1 (RC1) into a optoisolator which originally I was driving it way to fast… well unfortunately my isolation circuitry wasn’t quite up to the challenge of the speed but in the lower end of my sweep I got adequate results and ultimately the NCO test was very successful. While I was reading up on the NCO in the 16F1509 manual I started reading the configurable logic cell (CLC) module section. What a surprise to find this block in a 16F series microcontroller! The CLC is definitely going to get some more attention from me in the future. As always sample code follows below…
@andete tweeted:
programming a +Silicon Labs EFM32 zero gecko with python via the Bus Pirate; code at Github andete/PySWD (based on other people’s work) ; it’s really slow though; I should add fast programming mode based on the code in an0062
Get your own handy Bus Pirate for $30, including world-wide shipping. Also available from our friendly distributors.
Every Tuesday we give away two coupons for the free PCB drawer via Twitter. This post was announced on Twitter, and in 24 hours we’ll send coupon codes to two random retweeters.
Don’t forget there’s free PCBs three times a every week:
Some stuff:
We try to stagger free PCB posts so every time zone has a chance to participate, but the best way to see it first is to subscribe to the RSS feed, follow us on Twitter, or like us on Facebook.
Kra5h writes:
In my Instructable I demonstrate how to build a sample rotator, a common laboratory device used to continuously mix lab samples, using Erector set parts and littleBits.
In the littleBits Base Kit, the motor module comes with an adapter for a Lego cross-axle so you can add motion to a Lego project. There does not seem to be a littleBits adapter as of this writing for other construction toys such as K’nex or Erector. I decide to see if I could use the littBits motor with Erector set parts to build a simple motorized project for your home laboratory.
Via the contact form.
Cristian shared his 18F2550 smd minimal board in the project log forum:
It was made to simplify breadboard connections for a 18f2550 pic micro.
Features
-small , smd 0603 components
-led
-mini usb conector
-reset pads
-mclr resistor
For more information visit the project’s site -Valpoder. It’s also up on Tindie.
Via the forum.
Kevin Rye posted an update on his MEGA MINI project:
This was just supposed to be a proof of concept for the GPS clock; basically a trial run. However, it could very well be a finished project on its own. I could just put it in an enclosure and it would be good to go. With 256K of code space, I bet I could have it display a ton of cool stuff.
I’m one step closer to completing the GPS clock. I think it’s safe to go ahead and start working on the PCB and apply what I learned from the MEGA MINI.See this project from start to finish:
The MEGA MINI v1.0
MEGA MINI Assembly, Part I
As Valentines day is fast approaching, many are thinking of a wonderful present to their love ones. Tom built this heart-shaped LED chaser and wrote a post on his blog detailing it’s assembly:
The object of your desire will not be able to resist a heart-shaped LED chaser, lovingly hand-crafted on perfboard with a CD4017B decade counter and 555 astable. But you probably can’t go wrong with flowers and chocolates as well. Just to be on the safe side.
Check out the video after the break. Continue reading “Valentine LED chaser”
Kerry Wong writes:
Getting a rough measurement of the transistor hFE’s is useful when designing analog circuits. Unfortunately, only the lower end DMMs nowadays offer such functionality as it is becoming less and less useful to measure transistor hFEs in a world that is dominated by digital circuitry. Also hFE varies in different biasing situations and the hFE measurements on these cheap DMMs are typically done with a fixed base current (approximately 10 µA) in DC mode. But even with these limitations, hFE measurements can still be quite useful.
Graham242 shared this Bus Pirate v4 reference sheet he made in the forum:
This was the one I’d put together for the Bus Pirate V4 for the Seeed cable…
As I found the SVG, I’ve uploaded – then you can change it if need be.
Dangerous Prototypes stickers are available now in the free PCB drawer. You asked for them, you got them. Stickers for your laptop, soldering station, or workshop table. Give them away to friends and decorate your hackerspace.
Each coupon code gets you 14 stickers!
At the recent 30C3 conference in Hamburg, Germany, Andrew Reiter outlined his efforts in using inexpensive RTL-SDR dongles to build a distributed RF scanner array for monitoring and spectrum mapping.
Software-Defined Radio (SDR) has increased in popularity in recent years due to the decrease in hardware costs and increase in processing power. One example of such a class of devices is the RTL-SDR USB dongles based on the Realtek RTL2832U demodulator. This talk will discuss my experience in building a distributed RF scanner array for monitoring and spectrum mapping using such cheap SDR devices. The goal is to help the audience understand the what, why, and how of building their own RF monitoring array so that they will be able to do it themselves. In this era of increasingly being “watched’’, we must be prepared to do our own “watching’’.
Well said…
We go through a lot of prototype PCBs, and end up with lots of extras that we’ll never use. Every Sunday we give away a few PCBs from one of our past or future projects, or a related prototype. Our PCBs are made through Seeed Studio’s Fusion board service. This week two random commenters will get a coupon code for the free PCB drawer tomorrow morning. Pick your own PCB. You get unlimited free PCBs now – finish one and we’ll send you another! Don’t forget there’s free PCBs three times every week:
Today (January 26) is the closing date for initial idea submissions for the Hack The Arduino Robot contest sponsored by RobotChallenge.
This year RobotChallenge in cooperation with Arduino and RS Components presents a new open source competition – “Hack the Arduino Robot!”. To apply for this competition you need to submit a short description of your project idea (up to 120 words) until the 26th of January responding to the following questions:
What would you do with an Arduino Robot?
What makes your idea special?
What real life problem does your robot solve?An international jury will select the 10 best project ideas based on feasibility, creativity and innovation. The selected teams will receive a brand new Arduino Robot for free to implement their project ideas and are invited to present their robots at RobotChallenge 2014.
Open source is all about sharing with the community: Therefore each team has to document their project online and submit a short video (3 – 5 minutes) until the 23rd of February. Prizes donated by RS Components will be awarded in two categories: Best project & documentation Award and Community Award.
Again, the deadline for submissions is today, January 26, 2014. The contest rules are available in PDF.
Peter Lawrence has been working on using a PIC as a CMSIS-DAP ARM debugger.
I wanted to see what was feasible in the way of a very-low-cost ARM board. OK, that doesn’t sound original, but stick with me.
The solutions that I’ve seen (Tweeny, McHck, mbed, etc.) are limited to wholesale firmware updates. Press a button, download a new image, and see if it works.
I wanted to implement an integrated CMSIS-DAP debugger (ARM standard that is compatible with multiple OSes). That way, one can do everything from flash updates to single-step debugging.
The brute-force solution would be to plop two ARMs on a board, where one has USB capability and acts as the debugger.
However, that gets pricey. Atmel, for example, is using an AVR32 on their Xplained boards in a debugger role to shave costs, but the AVR32 isn’t exactly a dirt cheap chip either.
Instead, what I did was use a PIC… a PIC16F1454 to be precise. It costs $1.25US in single quantity and goes below a US dollar in 1k+ quantity. Plus, it doesn’t need an oscillator (further lowering total BOM costs).
Continue reading “PIC16F1454 used as inexpensive ARM debugger”
Oscar built a DIY bike rear light to keep him safe and wrote a post on his blog detailing it’s assembly:
In this project I will be using a microcontroller to allow for switching between the various functions I programmed. The entire system is built on the backbone of an ATtiny4313 chip with a few other parts totalling at about $35. It might seem a little expensive, but this build covers a lot of ground. You not only get safety-centric feature, you also get a handy USB charging facility and programmable LED display.
Every Friday we give away some extra PCBs via Facebook. This post was announced on Facebook, and on Monday we’ll send coupon codes to two random commenters. More PCBs via Twitter on Tuesday and the blog every Sunday.
Don’t forget there’s free PCBs three times every week:
Continue reading “Free PCB coupon via Facebook to 2 random commenters”
Here’s a summary of major developments over the last week. Free PCB Friday is coming up soon.
Coming up:
Tom posted his Arduino PID controller shield in the project log forum:
Program a temperature profile to mash beer or reflow solder. Here’s how.
This full featured open source PID controller uses a DIY stripboard shield for Arduino Uno and compatible boards. Firmware based on osPID massively revamped and extended, blood was sweated over new auto tune routines. Standalone or remote operation over UART using Java GUI. All documented on Github with BOM, schematics, code, pictures etc. Parts cost about $15, external SSR module and Arduino required.
I spun this project as a kit for Tayda, with the idea that all the components could be cheaply ordered in one place.
Via the forum.
Zxlee wrote a post on his blog detailing his digital clock on 7 segment controlled with TV remote:
When the Arduino first power up, it will display time information on 7 segment displays. Besides that, the LCD will display the time, date, temperature and day of week information. Basically, this is the main part of the program. The program will keeps on read from the DS1307 to update the time information.
When the user pressed ‘menu’ button on the TV remote, the LCD will display the selection for menu function. The functions available are alarm, timer, stopwatch and settings. User can navigate through each function by the ‘+/-‘ button. Whenever the user decides a function, the user can press the ‘select’ to enter that particular function.
