Thank [J. Peterson] for this one. Kits don’t usually end up as the daily post on Hackaday, but the altair was one of the first ‘personal computers’ – and this guy’s put together a new kit version. Wow. [The latest kit went on ebay for $1750…]
Month: November 2006
Post-thx Giving Extra
I’m hanging out with relatives, enjoying the holiday, but I can’t forget you guys. I’ve finally got a chance to announce some more prizes for the Design Challenge.
In addition to fbz’s hackaday ipod nano, MAKE put up one of their MAKE controllers and one of their Daisy MP3 player kits. The controller looks pretty sweet, servo interfaces, USB, etc, good stuff. I’ve got one of the daisy’s to play with, so I’ll be putting up more on that later. They also put together a nice open source gift guide. Plenty of it is from make, but there are a few good things on the list.
[John] sent in his Atari lynx C64 dtv mod. No details, but it looks like a decent portable mod.
[kedge] notes that the Wii apparently has opera pre-installed.
[Adam] pointed at that someone already has XP running on a friggin PS3. [via emulation under linux] I had issues reviewing the video, but it may have been my machine.
I’m going back to my poker game. Enjoy the holidays!
Happy Thxgiving – DSmidiwifi
[Tom] pointed out this nintendo DS midi wifi hack demo. [0xtob] and [therain] put on a demo of using a ds as a midi device. Check out the video. The two most interesting applications demo’ed: [to me] The kaos pad app and using the DS as a midi playback device. [I wonder how long until we see a DS orchestra. Seems like the DS still has plenty of potential for development. [via musicthing]
Wii Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Sensor Bar
[duff] found this and sent it in. The video demonstrates that the Wii ‘sensor bar’ is just an array of IR leds. The actual sensor is in the remote control – which probably sends data to the Wii via RF. These guys faked the ir signal using a pair of standard remotes. This’ll probably open the door to some controller cheats as things progress. [Better than using a belt sander on a trackball.]
[Hey – If you want to get on the podcast, email some questions or comments as mp3s to podcast at hackaday.]
DIY HD Projector How-To
Part 5 of my DIY HD projector How-To is up over on Engadget. I’m still finishing it up, but I should wrap it up in part 6. I’ll probably make a better reflector mount, but the rest of it is coming along nicely.
Tuesday Mini-extra
[Jon] noted that this guy is using his Prius as backup UPS for his house. [It’s been around, but’s it’s worthy.]
If you’re having issues with Eagle for the contest, [weirdguy] suggests this tutorial.
[Lain Sharp] sent in his three blind mice project. This is his version of the 3D mouse. with an AVR to send the data to windows via serial port.
[Michael] added an aux ‘input’ to his car stereo in a unique fashion – he wired it directly to the car speakers and drives them from his iPod. [I’m not recommending this, but it’s certainly a different approach.]
Finally, [oliverjenks] sent in this table saw finger jig hack – using some random power transistors, light bulbs and a laptop to drive a stepper motor.
If you haven’t already, check out our Design Challenge contest. I finally got some fedex shipping notifications today, so I should be able to officially announce more prizes very soon.
Questions For The Podcast / Contest Update
The next podcast is coming… In the meantime, if you want to ask a question in the podcast, record it as a mp3 and email it to podcast [at hackaday dot com]. If you’re wondering, I will do the next edition in mp3 – no more m4a stuff.
Now, to answer a few questions about the Design Challenge.
What kind of circuit should it be?
Anything from a personal massage speed controller to a miniature omelet maker. Whatever you can fit on the board, ok.
Will you extend the deadline?
No. If you want to send us something later, we’ll still take it. [but you’ll be a bit late to win any prizes]
How many entries can we submit?
No limit, but don’t go nuts, ok?
How big can it be?
The board will be credit card dimensions, but a standard thickness (think FR-4 or something) No, we don’t care how big the components are.
Do the components need to be available from somewhere like mouser/digikey?
I’d hope so. We don’t want to have to reclaim parts from sunken Russian submarines to build the circuit.
How can I submit it?
Put it online and send in a tip, or ask where to send it via the tips line. Either way, use the tips line.
