Hackszine.com: September 2007 Archive

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Archives: September 2007

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September 16, 2007

Hacking the Hot Wheels Radar Gun

Ed Paradis has put some thought into a couple of hacks for the Hot Wheels toy radar gun:

The Hot Wheels Radar Gun is a real radar gun currently (Feb 2007) available from Walmart and other retailers for about $30 (USD). It is a real radar gun, operating at 10.525 GHz capable of clocking cars, people, pets, and toys.
But before you can play with it, you've got to get the thing open! Here are some pictures of me taking the thing apart.

You can use the radar to detect the speed of moving objects, but Ed also posted some semi-successful (and some not-so, but worth reading) experiments with using the device in a custom circuit to detect the distance of objects for robotic projects. It's also worth noting that the LCD can be repurposed as a display output for your other electronic gizmos. For 30 bucks, it's a pretty good collection of useful robot parts.

Hacking the Hot Wheels Radar Gun - Link

September 15, 2007

Gameboy Advance GPS

Here's one of my favorite portable gaming hacks, the GBA GPS. It's a project that always comes to mind whenever I hear about some piece of homebrew development hardware falling under legal scrutiny.

People are always creating amazing things when closed hardware is hacked open for amateur development.

I own Magellan meridian GPS, many efforts were done to create custom maps for the receiver (see Links to my Magellan GPS page). But most of the mapping receivers (Magellan, Garmin) use vector graphics, this is very good for scaling, search, and huge amount of data. But sometimes much more convenient to have raster map with the current position on the map. I developed this GBA based mapping receiver to use scanned maps with GPS the way I like. This was done for fun, but I found this device very useful. I am using this device as a car navigator in the city.

The GBA GPS - Link

September 14, 2007

What's in store for the iPod Touch?

Over at the iPhone Dev Wiki, people are taking a crack at hacking the iPod Touch. The discussion so far is that Apple has encoded the firmware image differently for the iPod Touch. Because of this, there is currently no working jailbreak method that will allow you to get 3rd party software onto the deivce. I'm pretty excited for this to get sorted out... there are some key features that are sadly missing from the iPod Touch.

Keep your fingers crossed, though. Here are a few things you'll be able to do once this obstacle is surmounted:

enable SSH access
copy Mail, Maps, Stocks and Weather apps from an iPhone to the iPod
install important 3rd party software like Apollo IM (AIM client) and NES.app (Nintendo emulator)

Personally, I just want a nice little WiFi-enabled web client that I can install apps on for, say, a hundred bucks less than the iPhone.

September 13, 2007

How a quantum computer can factor a large number

An article today in New Scientist discusses two quantum computers, independantly built by two different research teams, that are capable of running Shor's quantum factorization algorithm. The current machines are only large enough to factor a small number--in this case, the number 15--but assuming the engineering challenges can be overcome and a larger quantum computer with more qubits is created, the quick factoring of large numbers (like those used in RSA public key cryptography) will be possible using the same algorithm.

Scott Aaronson wrote a most excellent essay titled "Shore, I'll Do It" that explains, in man on the street terms, how Shor's algorithm and the quantum Fourier transform works.

Look: if you think about quantum computing in terms of "parallel universes" (and whether you do or don't is up to you), there's no feasible way to detect a single universe that's different from all the rest. Such a lone voice in the wilderness would be drowned out by the vast number of suburb-dwelling, Dockers-wearing conformist universes. What one can hope to detect, however, is a joint property of all the parallel universes together -- a property that can only be revealed by a computation to which all the universes contribute.

If you've ever wondered how a quantum computer actually accomplishes work, have a read.

Shor, I'll do it - Link
Quantum threat to our secret data - [via] Link

September 12, 2007

HOWTO: Make a Wiimote peripheral - wireless Nunchuck anyone?

The Wii Nunchuck communicates with the Wiimote over I2C, constantly sending little 6-byte packets that describe the anolog stick, accelerometer, and button values.

You might remember that Brian posted about how you can hook the Nunchuck up to an Arduino board and read accelerometer data from it. Chad from Windmeadow Labs, who was responsible for this hack, also put together a howto describing how you can use an Adruino to mimic a Nunchuck, interfacing directly with the Wiimote.

So, you can connect an Arduino to a Nunchuck to read data from it. You can connect an Adruino to the Wiimote to send data to it. If only you could make those two Arduinos talk to eachother... Hold the phone! I posted about a $14 RF serial module from SparkFun that will let you do just that!

It'd be a little clunky because of the size of two chubby Arduinos, but if you can't wait for Nintendo to release a wireless Nunchuck to help you with your WiiSports Boxing habit, all the bits and pieces are here for you. You can get Freeduino bare bones kits pre-assembled from Modern Device for $22 each, so the total would come to just under $60.

$60 of purely awesome wireless Mii punching fury.

There is one caveat: the RF link would not be fast enough to communicate sample data from the nunchuck as fast as it is read by the Wiimote. There's a possible solution, though, for those of you who'd like to give it a try. The Nunchuck board can sample the button and accelerometer data and send it over the air at 2400 baud. The Wiimote-connected Arduino can store the last-received state and just keep sending that same data to the Wiimote at fast I2C speed until the next update is received from the RF connection. I'm not sure how noticeable the sensitivity loss would be, but you should still be able to have a resolution of about 40 sensor updates a second.

Anyone with a couple spare Arduinos want to give this a shot and share the details?

Connect an Arduino to the Wiimote as a perhiperal - Link
Hook your Wii nunchuck up to an Arduino - Link
RF-enable your microcontroller projects - Link
Nunchuck communication details - Link

September 11, 2007

iUnlock: free software-based iPhone unlock utility

Today was a busy day for iPhone hacking. First, example exploit code that unlocked the iPhone was released by the iPhone hacker Zappaz. Shortly thereafter a full iPhone unlocking utility became available at the iPhone Dev Wiki, along with step-by-step instructions for making it all work. The source is available for both codebases, so it's cool to see that the hack is no longer exclusively in the hands of closed-source, iPhone unlocking profiteers.

It takes about 20 minutes, but when you're done you'll be able to use your iPhone with any network you please, without even cracking the case. [via]

iUnlock - Link (Source)
iUnlock guide - Link
iPhone imode exploit example code - Link

September 10, 2007

Eyelash switch: cyborg-style human interface device

With some conductive fabric and spirit gum, you can make a simple binary switch that attaches to your eyelids. Andrew Schneider used some of these to make a polaroid camera that takes a snapshot when you blink.

When I first saw these, I was reminded of cyborgs in television and film and how they typically exhibit facial twitches when receiving data or jacking in to the network brain. I always thought the apparent "glitch" was sort of a stupid film device, but mabe it's not that far from the future truth. Left wink, change music track. Right wink, shoot photo with the camera tilak in your forehead. Triple-blink, stimulate adrenal gland to release epinephrine. Eyes closed for one minute, dose of melatonin.

Experimental Device for Performance: Eyelash Switch - Link

September 9, 2007

Arduino Diecimila Upgrade

David sent us an easy upgrade for the Bare Bones Arduino that will give it a couple cool features released with the new Diecimila Arduino, namely the ability to auto-reset after a code upload and a firmware update that will get the board running in 2 seconds instead of 10.

With help from Paul Badger of Modern Device Company and Brian of the Freeduino project this article will show you how to modify the Bare Bones Arduino board to make it compatible with the new Diecimila Arduino. No more pressing the reset button to load your code and no more long waits to see if it runs.

You can do the same with the Arduino NG boards as well. Both mods are just a simple solder job with a 0.1uF capacitor. If you tinker around with Arduino projects, this could be a huge development time-saver.

Bare Bones Arduino Diecimila Mod- Link
Upgrading an Arduino NG to Auto-Reset - Link

September 8, 2007

Unbrick or downgrade any PSP

The PSP hackers over at noobz.eu have released a killer tool for fixing any bricked PSP, restoring it to v1.5 firmware. When the PSP boots, the hardware checks for the serial number on the battery eeprom. If it's 0xFFFFFF, it loads firmware from the memory stick instead of from internal flash. You use a working PSP along with the Noobz team's tool to create one of these special batteries. With it, operation can be restored on devices that were previously unbootable due to corrupted firmware. It's also a nice way to completely downgrade your PSP. Pretty cool stuff.

Pandora's Battery: unbricker, downgrader for all PSP firmware versions - Link

September 7, 2007

NES.app - Nintendo emulator for the iPhone

NES.app is a full blown Nintendo emulator for the iPhone. It supports the device's multitouch interface, so you can use the virtual on-screen game pad with your thumbs, just like the Nintendo gods intended.

NES.app uses a heavily modified version of the InfoNES emulation core to mimic the 6502 processor in a Nintendo Entertainment System, allowing you to play ROM dumps of games designed for the NES console.
NES.app started as a fork of iPhoneNES v0.01, but has been completely rewritten to run very fast, and with many additional features including sound, multitouch support, full-screen, landscape mode, game genie codes, saved games and much more.

It's supposed to run pretty well, but if you're using game genie codes or a more graphically demanding title, there's a frame-drop feature... It'll still play realtime, but just a bit choppier.

What I'm really excited about, though, is the state saving ability, which allows you to stop a game mid-play and then start it again from that point at a later time. I could never beat Contra even after resorting to some "up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, b, a, b, a, select, start" business, and my Super Mario skills have always been wanting, so maybe this is my chance to regain some 1980s self respect.

NES.app: The Nintendo Emulator for iPhone - Link

September 6, 2007

Electrolytic rust removal

ToolNut put together a nice guide for using electrolysis to clean up rusty tools:

This is a relatively simple, safe and cheap way to remove light or heavy rust from any ferrous object. I used this process to restore an old wood plane that I bought for $1 (it looked totally un-usable because of the rust). As opposed to grinding, heavy wire brushing and acid bath processes, this method removes none of the original steel and is not noisy or caustic.

I'm going to clean up a few tools in the basement that haven't been taken care of as well as they should have... too bad none of them are as sweet as that plane ToolNut came across for a buck.

Electrolytic Rust Removal aka Magic - Link

September 5, 2007

Moldable plastic from styrofoam

Common packaging styrofoam is actually puffed polystyrene, the same polymer that's used to make things like CD cases and plastic model parts. When acetone is used as a solvent, the expanded polystyrene will easily dissolve and you'll be left with a liquid acetone/polystyrene solution. As the acetone evaporates, the polystyrene becomes increasingly viscous: first pourable, then moldable, and finally solid polystyrene plastic.

Solid polystyrene will dissolve in acetone as well, but with the vastly larger surface area (due to all the little gas bubbles) styrofoam dissolves much faster. That, and it's readily available if you have a basement full of old packaging materials.

There must be an easy method for pouring or spin-casting custom plastic parts or action figures using dissolved polystyrene. Have any of you ever tried this or have any ideas on the subject? Please let us know in the comments!

Instructable: How to "make" plastic - Link
Wikipedia: Polystyrene - Link

September 4, 2007

Fire and robots

Fire and robots. Robot love. Burnination. I came across a couple of pyro-robot soulmates today.

Flameosapien is our familiar buddy, slightly modified with a remote operated flamethrower. The Robosapien V2's remote was modified with an additional 4 channer transmitter. Gas flow is adjusted by a small servo and ignited with a BBQ lighter.

His more autonomous counterpart is a Wiimote controlled robotic firefighter. The Wiimote's IR sensor is used for detecting a fire source (such as a candle) and it relays commands between an arduino board and a nearby computer. It's a pretty simple set-up: the robot turns toward the flame, spins a fan, and drives toward the fire. Crude, maybe, but I dig how the Wiimote is being used as a communication channel for the arduino. This might be a simple way of adding bluetooth capability to your own robot project.

Flameosapien - [via] Link
Wiimote Controlled Firefighting Robot - Link

September 3, 2007

VGA over Cat-5 ethernet

If you've ever needed to place a VGA monitor further than the standard 6 foot cable allows, you may be familiar with some of these problems:

VGA cables are expensive
Several cables chained together affects signal quality
Running a VGA cable through conduit is pretty difficult

You can avoid a lot of these problems by making a couple VGA to Cat-5 adapters. This will let you run standard, cheap, easy-to-pull ethernet cable between your computer and video display. The twisted pair helps reduce signal loss, though it doesn't work quite as well as the long-run shielded VGA cables. Unless you need to extend your display to over 50 feet, this might be a much easier and more cost-effective way to do things.

VGA over Cat-5 ethernet cable - Link

September 2, 2007

NSA@home - distributed FPGA MD5 cracker

Here's an innovative use of recycled HD-video electronics:

NSA@home is a fast FPGA-based SHA-1 and MD5 bruteforce cracker. It is capable of searching the full 8-character keyspace (from a 64-character set) in about a day in the current configuration for 800 hashes concurrently.
The cracker is built out of surplus Grass Valley HD video transform boards, scrapped by GV because of defects. A useful tool was developed to assist the board reverse-engineering effort.

The author, Stanislaw Skowronek, will be providing a web interface in the near future, that will allow a few submissions to be cracked online.

It's pretty cool to think that brute force attacks have become computationally feasible and cheaply available for today's most commonly used cyptographic hash algorithms. It's 2^96 times harder to brute-force SHA-256, but who knows what tomorrow's defective consumer electronics will be packing.

NSA@home - Link

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