WRT54GL, meet Alice

Wasn't there a Mac called Alice? No wait, that was Lisa...

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 … [Read more...]

Step-a-sketch

step-a-sketch

[Chris] is getting his feet wet with Computer Numerical Control starting with an Etch-a-Sketch interface. This is a great way to start out because the really tough parts of the project are already inside of the toy. He's replaced the two white knobs with stepper motors and connected them through a mosfet network to a PIC 16f84a. The PIC then gets its commands from a computer via the parallel … [Read more...]

What’s the worst way to transmit video?

worst-video-transmission

Perhaps the worst possible way to transmit video would be to send all pixel data in parallel.  That's exactly how [Gebhard Sengmüller's] parallel image device works. To be fair, this is an art piece called "A Parallel Image" that addresses the concept of where we would be if serial data transmission had never come to fruition. The brochure (PDF) accompanying the exhibit gives the juicy details … [Read more...]

Introduction to FTDI bitbang mode

Above: The SparkFun FTDI Basic Breakout board (around $14) is surrounded by the FTDI TTL-232R converter cable (around $20). Both bring out four data lines that can be used for general-purpose I/O. There is a one pin difference in that the FTDI cable brings out the RTS pin, while the SparkFun board uses the DTR pin in the same position.

It was an interface that launched a thousand hacks. Near trivial to program, enough I/O lines for useful work, and sufficiently fast for a multitude of applications: homebrew logic analyzers, chip programmers, LCD interfaces and LED light shows, to name a few. Today the parallel printer port is on the brink of extinction (and good riddance, some would say). Largely rendered obsolete by USB, few … [Read more...]

Modular computing

This is the Illuminato X Machina, a "cellular" style computing system.  Each unit is a fully functioning computer with its own processor, storage and communications.  You can watch above as a change in the operating software is propagated across the grid. You can see the LEDs in the video going nuts, there are actually LEDs on the sides too. [Justin] described it to us as a personal fireworks … [Read more...]

Non-von1 supercomputer

nonvon_box_small_comp

[Chris] sent us this project, where he built a tiny supercomputer called the Non-von1. Wanting a supercomputer, but lacking space and funds, he opted to go after the supercomputers of the 80s. His system was patterned after the "Von Neumann" systems developed at Columbia university. His system has 31 8 bit processors to crunch numbers for him. The whole unit communicates with the computer using … [Read more...]