Spectroscopy On The Cheap

September 27, 2024 by Al Williams 11 Comments

[Project 326] wanted to know exactly what gas was in some glass tubes. The answer, of course, is to use a spectrometer, but that’s an expensive piece of gear, right? Not really. Sure, these cheap devices aren’t perfect, but they are serviceable and, as the video below shows, there are ways to work around some of the limitations.

The two units in question are “The Little Garden” spectrometer and a TLM-2. Neither are especially sensitive, but both are well under $100, so you can’t expect much. Because the spectrometers were not very sensitive, a 3D printed jig and lens were used to collect more light and block ambient light interference. The jigs also allowed the inclusion of special filters, which enhanced performance quite a bit. The neon bulbs give off the greatest glow when exposed to high voltage. Other bulbs contain things like helium, xenon, and carbon dioxide. There were also tubes with mercury vapor and even deuterium.

We’ll admit it. Not everyone needs a spectrometer, but if you do, there’s a lot of really interesting info on how to get the most out of these cheap devices. Apparently, [Project 326] was frustrated that he couldn’t buy an X-ray spectrometer and has vowed to create one, so we’ll be interested to see how that goes.

Some homebrew spectrometers can get pretty fancy. Of course, there’s more to spectroscopy than just optics.

Continue reading “Spectroscopy On The Cheap” →

Turn A Mouse Into An Analogue Tuning Knob

September 27, 2024 by Jenny List 4 Comments

The software defined radio has opened up unimaginable uses of the radio spectrum for radio enthusiasts, but it’s fair to say that there’s one useful feature of an old-fashioned radio they lack when used via a computer. We’re talking of course about the tuning knob, because it represents possibly the most intuitive way to move across the bands. Never fear though, because [mircemk] has a solution. He’s converted a mouse into a tuning dial.

The scroll wheel on a mouse is nothing more than a rotary encoder, and can easily be used as a sort of tuning knob. Replacing it with a better encoder gives it a much better feel, so that’s what he’s done. An enclosure has the guts of a mouse, with the front-mounted encoder wired into where the scroll wheel would have been. The result, for a relatively small amount of work, is a tuning knob, and a peripheral we’re guessing could also have a lot of uses beyond software defined radio.

It’s not the first knob we’ve seen, for that you might want to start with the wonderfully named Tiny Knob, but it’s quite possibly one of the simplest to build. We like it.

3D Printed Jellyfish Lights Up

September 27, 2024 by Al Williams 1 Comment

[Ben] may be 15 years old, but he’s got the knack for 3D printing and artistic mechanical design. When you see his 3D-printed mechanical jellyfish lamp, we think you’ll agree. Honestly, it is hardly fair to call it a lamp. It is really — as [Ben] points out — a kinetic sculpture.

One of the high points of the post is the very detailed documentation. Not only is everything explained, but there is quite a bit of background information on jellyfish, different types of gears, and optimizing 3D prints along with information on how to recreate the sculpture.

There is quite a bit of printing, including the tentacles. There are a few options, like Arduino-controlled LEDs. However, the heart of the operation is a geared motor.

All the design files for 3D printing and the Arduino code are in the post. There’s also a remote control. The design allows you to have different colors for various pieces and easily swap them with a screwdriver.

One major concern was how noisy the thing would be with a spinning motor. According to [Ben], the noise level is about 33 dB, which is about what a whisper sounds like. However, he mentions you could consider using ball bearings, quieter motors, or different types of gears to get the noise down even further.

We imagine this jellyfish will come in at well under $6 million. If you don’t want your jellyfish to be art, maybe you’d prefer one that creates art.

Hacking Kia: Remotely Hijack A Car Using Only Its License Plate

September 27, 2024 by Maya Posch 55 Comments

These days everything needs to be connected to remote servers via the internet, whether it’s one’s TV, fridge or even that new car you just bought. A recently discovered (and already patched) vulnerability concerning Kia cars was a doozy in this regard, as a fairly straightforward series of steps allowed for any attacker to obtain the vehicle identification number (VIN) from the license plate, and from there become registered as the car’s owner on Kia’s network. The hack and the way it was discovered is described in great detail on [Sam Curry]’s website, along with the timeline of its discovery.

Notable is that this isn’t the first vulnerability discovered in Kia’s HTTP-based APIs, with [Sam] this time taking a poke at the dealer endpoints. To his surprise, he was able to register as a dealer and obtain a valid session ID using which he could then proceed to query Kia’s systems for a user’s registered email address and phone number.

With a specially crafted tool to automate the entire process, this information was then used to demote the car’s owner and register the attacker as the primary owner. After this the attacker was free to lock/unlock the doors, honk to his heart’s content, locate the car and start/stop the vehicle. The vulnerability affected all Kia cars made after 2013, with the victim having no indication of their vehicle having been hijacked in this manner. Aside from the doors randomly locking, the quaint honking and engine turning on/off at a whim, of course.

Perhaps the scariest part about this kind of vulnerability is that it could have allowed an attacker to identify a vulnerable parked car, gained access, before getting into the car, starting the engine and driving away. As long as these remote APIs allow for such levels of control, one might hope that one day car manufacturers will take security somewhat more serious, as this is only the latest in a seemingly endless series of amusingly terrifying security vulnerabilities that require nothing more than some bored hackers with HTTP query crafting tools to discover.

Continue reading “Hacking Kia: Remotely Hijack A Car Using Only Its License Plate” →

A render of an SAO that resembles a Speak 'n Spell.

2024 SAO Contest: Speak, SAO

September 27, 2024 by Kristina Panos 7 Comments

For some of us, the Speak ‘n Spell evokes pleasant memories of childhood as our first computer, along with one of those Merlin things. For others, it’s the ultimate circuit bending victim. For [Jeremy Geppert], they’re all-around good fun and he wanted to immortalize the device in a Simple Add-On (SAO).

This is [Jeremy]’s first board and SAO rolled into one, motivated by both Supercon and the SAO Contest. To start things off, [Jeremy] scaled down the design we all know and love to fit a 128×32 OLED display, and it looks great. The plan is to have the display, an amplified speaker, and a single button for input.

Before committing the board order, [Jeremy] had a brief freak-out about the pin distance as it relates to the window for the OLED display. Luckily, his brother suggested checking things first by printing a 1:1 scale image of the board outline, and laying that over the display.

This is the week it all comes together, as the tiny switches and (regular-size) connectors have arrived, and the boards are due quite soon. Go, [Jeremy], go!

Retro Gadgets: Things Your TV No Longer Needs

September 27, 2024 by Al Williams 59 Comments

It is hard to imagine that a handful of decades ago, TV wasn’t a thing. We’ve talked a few times about the birth of television. After an admittedly slow slow start, it took over like wildfire. Of course, anything that sells millions will spawn accessories. Some may be great. Then there are others.

We wanted to take a nostalgic look back at some of the strange add-ons people used to put on or in their TVs. Sure, VCRs, DVD players, and video game consoles were popular. But we were thinking a little more obscure than that.

Rabbit Ears

Every once in a while, we see an ad or a box in a store touting the ability to get great TV programming for free. Invariably, it is a USB device that lets you watch free streaming channels or it is an antenna. There was a time when nearly all TVs had “rabbit ears” — so called because they made an ~~inverted~~ V on the top of your set.

These dipoles were telescoping and you were supposed to adjust them to fit the TV station you were watching but everyone “knew” that you wanted them as long as possible at all times. Holding one end of them gave it a ground and would give you a major improvement in picture. People also liked to wrap tin foil around the tips. Was it like a capacitive hat? We aren’t sure.

The better rabbit ears had knobs and switches along with multiple elements. If you lived close to a TV station, you probably didn’t need much. If you didn’t, no number of fancy add-ons would likely help you. Continue reading “Retro Gadgets: Things Your TV No Longer Needs” →

Hackaday Podcast Episode 290: IPhone’s Electric Glue, Winamp’s Source Code, And Sonya’s Beautiful Instructions

September 27, 2024 by Tom Nardi 14 Comments

This week, Hackaday Editors Elliot Williams and Tom Nardi start things off by acknowledging an incredible milestone: 20 years of Hackaday! Well, probably. When a website gets to be this old, it’s a little hard to nail down when exactly things kicked off, but it seems like September of 2004 is about right. They’ll also go over the latest updates for the fast-approaching Hackaday Supercon, and announce the winner of another tough What’s That Sound challenge.

From there, the conversation makes its way from the fascinating electrically-activated adhesive holding the latest iPhone together to pulsed-power lasers and a high flying autonomous glider designed and built by a teenager. You’ll also hear about 3D printing on acrylic, home biohacking, and the Tiny Tool Kit Manifesto. Stick around to the end to hear the duo discuss the fine art of good documentation, and an incredible bodge job from Arya Voronova.

Check out the links below if you want to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!

Download in DRM-free MP3 and savor at your leisure.