Entries from February 2010 ↓

Hackaday alum [Ian Lesnet] has been working in cahoots with a dedicated team of developers to produce the OpenBench Logic Sniffer. This caseless logic analyzer can operate at 100MHz and sample 32 channels at once. Better yet, a digital oscilloscope add-on is in the works. The pre-order comes in at $45, that’s a lot of functionality for just a few greenbacks. We’ve embedded a demo video after the break that details installing and using this device under Ubuntu.

[Thanks Drone via Dangerous Prototypes]

[Joe] tipped us off about his 112 LED coffee table. This 12-ups the LED matrix from Friday and 31-ups the Shiftbrite table. Driving this grid is an ATmega328 in i2c slave mode. It listens for display data from a second ATmega328 and uses that to set the array of TLC5940 driven LEDs appropriately. Separating the processing microcontroller from the display microcontroller allows for fast and smooth display changes that can be seen after the break. [Joe's] table exhibits exquisite cable management, clean code, and an amazing amount of flexibility. Maybe [Caleb Kraft] will finally pony up the dough and make this project for his own home.

[Joe] waited until he saw some other LED tables to send us a link to his hack. This is obviously an awesome project, one that we want to see just as much as our readers do.  So please, don’t wait for someone else to stumble upon your project, send us a tip once you’re done sharing the details.

We always wondered what happens to ancient pianos when the internals can no longer be kept in a playable condition. [Jean Philippe Roch] gutted his elderly upright and fit a Korg Triton inside. After the break you can watch a few videos including a slide show of the work log.  [Jean] separates the Korg keyboard from its case and places it in the empty upright piano rank. He then mounts the Korg’s controls in the front panel and adds motorized control to reveal this hidden secret. The project is finished with speakers in the bottom portion of the upright and blue LED lighting effects.

The result is a pretty nice show-piece. It’s not as hacky as vocoding, but we really love the finished look.

Construction log

Case automation

Playing demonstration

[Thanks poisoMike]

One of the worst moments almost every hacker has experienced is a hard drive inexplicably dieing. And of course, its at the most inopportune time and you’ve had no chance to backup!

Recently there has been an influx of Seagate hard drives (specifically the 2700.11s) kicking the bucket with firmware errors 0LBA and BSY. The good news is [Gradius2] has made guides to unbrick your drive without having to match serials.

The procedure is lengthy, complicated, can easily become expensive, and there is the possibility of losing your data so it’s not recommended if you’re only getting those pictures of Mr.Fluffykins back. In such a case, Thermite might be a bit better solution.

[Thanks Calvin]

The 2010 Nintendo Media Summit has come and gone, and sent a wave of huge Nintendo news through the industry. We had hands-on time with some of the Wii’s biggest upcoming titles, screenshots for almost everything on Nintendo’s 2010 calendar and a big ol’ sack full of new videos. In case you missed anything, we’ve wrapped it all up and have it here for you in one tidy little package.

Continue reading Nintendo Media Summit 2010: The Recap Post

Nintendo Media Summit 2010: The Recap Post originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 28 Feb 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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[Anders] tipped us off about his hack that re-purposes a smoke alarm as a burglar alarm. Unfortunately, he came home in the middle of a burglary but wanted to be ready the next time someone tries to break in. By cleverly patching into the test button on an old smoke detector he created a circuit-trip alarm. One side of each piece of wire is secured to the frame and jam of a window. A paper clip completes the circuit by pinching the two bare conductors. If the window is opened the connection is lost and the alarm sounds.

We see a few problems with this system. First off, never hack your ONLY smoke detector, you are putting lives at risk by doing so. But [Anders] says he’ll have a replacement detector and since these things need to be replace every ten years or so, chances are you can find an old one kicking around. We’d recommend disguising the case so that people aren’t confused about it being a smoke detector. Secondly, he’s mounted the alarm right in the window frame so most likely an invader will just smash the thing to bits.

Anyway, it’s still an interesting reuse of these ubiquitous, and life-saving, devices.

Here’s two input devices you can easily build with materials you already have on hand.

To the left, [John] built a 3×3 keypad matrix from paper and tinfoil. The rows and columns are made up of strips of tin foil on the front and back layers of paper. The layers are separated by spongy double-stick tape. A ‘keypress’ results when the gap between the conductors is compressed with your finger.

In much the same way, [Dave Fletcher] built a touch potentiometer. He made two resistance plates by scribbling pencil lead on sheets of paper. When the two plates face each other, separated by the same type of foam tape as before, they can be pressed together to form a circuit with a variable resistance. This results in a crude version of the SparkFun softpot.

Here’s two input devices you can easily build with materials you already have on hand.

To the left, [John] built a 3×3 keypad matrix from paper and tinfoil. The rows and columns are made up of strips of tin foil on the front and back layers of paper. The layers are separated by spongy double-stick tape. A ‘keypress’ results when the gap between the conductors is compressed with your finger.

In much the same way, [Dave Fletcher] built a touch potentiometer. He made two resistance plates by scribbling pencil lead on sheets of paper. When the two plates face each other, separated by the same type of foam tape as before, they can be pressed together to form a circuit with a variable resistance. This results in a crude version of the SparkFun softpot.

When it comes to routers, there is one that is hacker’s favorite, the WRT54GL. But a slightly lesser known company, Pirelli with their “Alice Gate2 plus Wi-Fi”, seems to be a popular choice among our Italian friends.

[Esteban] has done everything from installing serial and parallel ports, to unlocking firmware while installing Debian. Our personal favorite is the creative wiring of an additional USB port, where he had to custom create a power circuit to run his webcam and external drive.

[Thanks Marco]

[Update: It would appear Roleo, Beghiaro, and Zibri did the actual grunt work at ilpuntotecnicoeadsl and Esteban simply wrote the guides. Thanks for your hard work and hacking skills guys!]

When it comes to routers, there is one that is hacker’s favorite, the WRT54GL. But a slightly lesser known company, Pirelli with their “Alice Gate2 plus Wi-Fi”, seems to be a popular choice among our Italian friends.

[Esteban] has done everything from installing serial and parallel ports, to unlocking firmware while installing Debian. Our personal favorite is the creative wiring of an additional USB port, where he had to custom create a power circuit to run his webcam and external drive.

[Thanks Marco]

[Update: It would appear Roleo, Beghiaro, and Zibri did the actual grunt work at ilpuntotecnicoeadsl and Esteban simply wrote the guides. Thanks for your hard work and hacking skills guys!]

Cing’s sequel to Hotel Dusk is destined for a PAL release, a recent trademark shows. This may cause one to believe Last Window could eventually find its way to North America and we’d certainly entertain the notion — at least it should be importable.

Admittedly, Nintendo actively promoted Cing’s first game and a lot of DS enthusiasts in the U.S. seemed to enjoy it, so we can see it happening. But without so much as a mention during the recent Nintendo Media Summit, we’re not gonna hold our breath just yet. Let’s at least agree to wait until E3, OK?

Source – OHIM online European trademark database [Via Siliconera]

Nintendo trademarks Last Window (Hotel Dusk 2) in Europe originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 26 Feb 2010 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cing’s sequel to Hotel Dusk is destined for a PAL release, a recent trademark shows. This may cause one to believe Last Window could eventually find its way to North America and we’d certainly entertain the notion — at least it should be importable.

Admittedly, Nintendo actively promoted Cing’s first game and a lot of DS enthusiasts in the U.S. seemed to enjoy it, so we can see it happening. But without so much as a mention during the recent Nintendo Media Summit, we’re not gonna hold our breath just yet. Let’s at least agree to wait until E3, OK?

Source – OHIM online European trademark database [Via Siliconera]

Nintendo trademarks Last Window (Hotel Dusk 2) in Europe originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 26 Feb 2010 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve seen the DSi’s camera used as a tilt sensor a couple of times, but Rittai Kakushi E Atta Kore Da (something like Hidden 3D Shapes: There it Is) does something new with it: using the camera’s motion sensing to create the illusion of a 3D space, which you explore by moving the DS and changing perspective.

The game itself involves searching these 3D environments for hidden objects. In the level shown in the trailer after the break (which you really should watch to figure out what the hell we’re talking about), you’re looking for items that, when viewed from a certain perspective, arrange themselves into letters.

Rittai Kakushi E Atta Kore Da will be out in Japan on DSiWare March 3.

Continue reading Japanese DSiWare game uses camera to create illusion of depth

Japanese DSiWare game uses camera to create illusion of depth originally appeared on Joystiq Nintendo on Fri, 26 Feb 2010 19:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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[PT] let us know that Adafruit Industries has just release a pong clock kit. The $80 price tag might seem a bit steep but it does come with a custom-ordered KS0108 display in order to get white on black like the classic video game, as seen after the break. Also included is the laser-cut case, an ATmega328 microcontroller, RTC, and all the other bits needed to get this working.

We just saw a pong clock built on a breadboard using a KS0108 display but that one used a PIC processor. Adafruit always open-sources their designs and code so you can head over to the kit details page if you already have the hardware on hand to throw this together.

[Maximilian Ernestus] sent us a quick little demo that shows him using a rotary phone dial as a num pad. We’re often frustrated when notebooks and netbooks prohibit us from using our mad 10-key skills (alternate key mapping doesn’t count). This makes coding and using GnuCash undesirable on small form factor portables.

Instead of fixing the problem, [Maximilian] made it worse by interfacing a rotary phone as a num pad. An Arduino counts the pulses and feeds them to the computer via a serial connection.  From there it’s just a bit of software handling to issue a keypress.  He mentions that a future version should register as a USB keyboard. This is a great opportunity to ditch the Arduino and use the V-USB library.

Want to dig a bit deeper into this old technology? Don’t miss out on the information available from the Magic Phone hack.

Capcom has terrible luck with handheld Mega Man compilations. Remember how a collection of the Game Boy Mega Man games was supposed to be released alongside the GameCube/PS2 Mega Man Anniversary Collection? Remember when that actually happened? (No, because it didn’t.) Now the Japanese website for the DS Mega Man Zero Collection reveals that the game’s April 22 release date in that region has been delayed to an unspecified date.

We’ve put in an inquiry with Capcom about whether this affects the “early summer” release date for North America. But if the company doesn’t know when it’ll release the game in Japan, the other dates would pretty much have to be up in the air as well.

[Via Protodude's Rockman Corner]

Mega Man Zero Collection delayed in Japan originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 26 Feb 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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[KopfKopfKopfAffe] just finished a 3-year labor of love resulting in this 10 by 10 LED Matrix. This trumps the Shiftbrite table from earlier today by bringing an actual 100 LEDs to the display. These LEDs cost much less than the Shiftbrites, but since they don’t have their own on-board controller this project requires much more back end work. A total of 25 ATmega8 microcontrollers drive this display, in turn controlled via an RS-232 connection to a computer.

We love the Lemmings animations. It made us realize that this would be a great candidate to play Super Pixel Bros on. Check out the video after the break for snapshots of the hardware as well as videos of the matrix at play. You may also want to peruse the translated work log.

This week, European Wii and DSi owners can download the same game on either system: a ported version of Chillingo’s iPhone shooter iDracula: Undead Awakening. Unfortunately, it’s hitting on the absolute worst day ever to release a WiiWare game about fighting Dracula.

• Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth (WiiWare, 1 player, 1,000 Wii Points)
• Reel Fishing Challenge (WiiWare, 1 player, 500 Wii Points)
• Dracula: Undead Awakening (WiiWare, 1 player, 1,000 Wii Points)
• Bird & Bombs (DSiWare, 1 player, 200 DSi Points)
• Dracula: Undead Awakening (DSiWare, 1 player, 500 DSi Points)
• Electroplankton: Marine-Crystals (DSiWare, 1 player, 200 DSi Points)
• Electroplankton: Varvoice (DSiWare, 1 player, 200 DSi Points)
• Zoo Frenzy (DSiWare, 1 player, 800 DSi Points)

European Nintendo downloads: Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth, Dracula: Undead Awakening originally appeared on Joystiq Nintendo on Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’ve ever been caught in the situation of needing to drill a clean straight hole down the center of a bolt or rod, you’ve probably tried and ended up with a broken bit or tilted hole, and a ton of cursing to boot.

[Vik] let us know about this nifty trick for drilling ‘down the middle’ using a simple hobby drill press and vice. He claims it’s ‘physics guiding the bit’ but in reality its just crafty use of a chuck. Either way the quick trick works, and will hopefully save a lot of hackers some headaches in the future.

Let us know in the comments if you have any simple quick tips that you use when you’re out in the shop.

[Matthias] swapped out his twin-tube florescent aquarium lights for LEDs. By running tank water through the aluminum LED mounts he’s transferring excess heat into the water in the tank, in turn saving some of the electricity that would have been used to heat the tank. Couple this with roughly 35 Watts saved by moving away from fluorescent tubes and he’s got a great energy-saving hack. The LEDs used in the last aquarium light conversion were cooled by heat sinks and fans. We’d love to see this concept incorporated into that design.

[Jethomson] worked out a way to use a Nokia USB cable at a USB to Serial cable. He was able to pick up one of these cables for less than $3 delivered. A little probing worked out which conductors go with the appropriate signals and from there he developed a way to protect the 3.3v signal levels with a voltage divider.

It’s not surprising that this works, having seen [Will O'Brien's] post covering serial communications on Nokia phones. In that post we learned that the Nokia phones are using TTL communications. Once you’ve completed [Jethomson's] modifications to the cable you can follow his examples for using this in conjunction with an Arduino.

Even without the PlayStation Motion Controller to back it up, Resident Evil 5 has struck gold for a second time. The PS3 version of Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition (Alternative Edition in Japan) hit the top of the Media Create sales chart in Japan following its February 18 release, selling 143,339 copies. God Eater continues to gobble up attention, taking the #2 spot with 64,192 copies sold.

Another big PS3 game debuted in the top ten this week: Heavy Rain, which fell in at #6, selling 26,775 units. In a way, the Japanese version is the superior release, because the voice acting doesn’t seem to have been performed by French people faking Japanese accents. See the full top ten after the break.

Continue reading RE5 Gold tops Japanese charts; Heavy Rain floods top ten

RE5 Gold tops Japanese charts; Heavy Rain floods top ten originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 26 Feb 2010 09:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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[Jethomson] worked out a way to use a Nokia USB cable at a USB to FTDI cable. He was able to pick up one of these cables for less than $3 delivered. A little probing worked out which conductors go with the appropriate signals and from there he developed a way to protect the 3.3v signal levels with a voltage divider.

It’s not surprising that this works, having seen [Will O'Brien's] post covering serial communications on Nokia phones. In that post we learned that the Nokia phones are using TTL communications. Once you’ve completed [Jethomson's] modifications to the cable you can follow his examples for using this in conjunction with an Arduino.

Tetris Party is coming out again, this time in the more expensive “on disc” format. Originally a WiiWare release, Majesco and Tetris Online, Inc. are teaming up to release Tetris Party Deluxe for both Wii and DS this June. The retail release has a few enhancements over the WiiWare original, such as three new modes: Sprint, Master, and Bombliss. Unfortunately, none of these three modes are as inventive as the modes introduced in the original WiiWare game, like Field Climber, Stage Racer and Shadow.

A price has yet to be set on Tetris Party Deluxe, but it’ll be difficult to justify much more than the $12 asking price the downloadable version currently sports. A retail release on the DS is a bit more palpable, promising all the content found in the Wii version while offering a key feature DSiWare cannot capitalize on: the ability to play on every DS system out there.

To see all the differences between the three versions of Tetris Party, check out a publisher-provided chart after the break.

Continue reading Tetris Party Deluxe coming to Wii and DS this June

Tetris Party Deluxe coming to Wii and DS this June originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 19:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here’s some refreshing news: Tecmo announced the release date for a handheld game whose existence isn’t totally humiliating: the supernatural murder mystery Again for DS. The publisher gave a specific day to its former March release date: March 30.

In addition to the date, Tecmo provided some more evidence of Again’s gameplay in the form of a trailer. Fans of Rorschach tests, full-motion video and, particularly, totally intense headache pantomime would do well to have a look. Seriously, this trailer contains the most intense fake headache we’ve seen in the game.

Play Again for the first time on March 30 originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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