Gloriously Impractical: Overclocking The Raspberry Pi 5 To 3.6 GHz

November 18, 2024 by 9 Comments
The Raspberry Pi 5 board strapped to a liquid nitrogen cooler and with ElmorLabs AMPLE-X1 power board attached. (Credit: Pieter-Jan Plaisier, SkatterBencher.com)
The Raspberry Pi 5 board strapped to a liquid nitrogen cooler with an ElmorLabs AMPLE-X1 power board attached. (Credit: Pieter-Jan Plaisier, SkatterBencher.com)

As impractical as most overclocking of computers is these days, there is still a lot of fun to be had along the way. Case in point being [Pieter-Jan Plaisier]’s recent liquid nitrogen-aided overclocking of an unsuspecting Raspberry Pi 5 and its BCM2712 SoC. Previous OCing attempts with air cooling by [Pieter] had left things off at a paltry 3 GHz from the default 2.4 GHz, with the power management IC (PMIC) circuitry on the SBC turning out to be the main limiting factor.

The main change here was thus to go for liquid nitrogen (LN2) cooling, with a small chipset LN2 pot to fit on the SBC. Another improvement was the application of a NUMA (non-uniform memory addressing) patch to force the BCM2712’s memory controller to utilize better RAM chip parallelism.

With these changes, the OC could now hit 3.6 GHz, but at 3.7 GHz, the system would always crash. It was time to further investigate the PMIC issues.

The PMIC imposes voltage configuration limitations and turns the system off at high power consumption levels. A solution there was to replace said circuitry with an ElmorLabs AMPLE-X1 power supply and definitively void the SBC’s warranty. This involves removing inductors and removing solder mask to attach the external power wires. Yet even with these changes, the SoC frequency had trouble scaling, which is why an external clock board was used to replace the 54 MHz oscillator on the PCB. Unfortunately, this also failed to improve the final overclock.

We covered the ease of OCing to 3 GHz previously, and no doubt some of us are wondering whether the new SoC stepping may OC better. Regardless, if you want to get a faster small system without jumping through all those hoops, there are definitely better (and cheaper) options. But you do miss out on the fun of refilling the LN2 pot every couple of minutes.

Thanks to [Stephen Walters] for the tip.

Split-Flap Clock Flutters Its Way To Displaying Time Without Numbers

November 5, 2024 by 18 Comments

Here’s a design for a split-flap clock that doesn’t do it the usual way. Instead of the flaps showing numbers , Klapklok has a bit more in common with flip-dot displays.

Klapklok updates every 2.5 minutes.

It’s an art piece that uses custom-made split-flaps which flutter away to update the display as time passes. An array of vertically-mounted flaps creates a sort of low-res display, emulating an analog clock. These are no ordinary actuators, either. The visual contrast and cleanliness of the mechanism is fantastic, and the sound they make is less of a chatter and more of a whisper.

The sound the flaps create and the sight of the high-contrast flaps in motion are intended to be a relaxing and calming way to connect with the concept of time passing. There’s some interactivity built in as well, as the Klapklok also allows one to simply draw on it wirelessly with via a mobile phone.

Klapklok has a total of 69 elements which are all handmade. We imagine there was really no other way to get exactly what the designer had in mind; something many of us can relate to.

Split-flap mechanisms are wonderful for a number of reasons, and if you’re considering making your own be sure to check out this easy and modular DIY reference design before you go about re-inventing the wheel. On the other hand, if you do wish to get clever about actuators maybe check out this flexible PCB that is also its own actuator.

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Bogey Six O’clock!: The AN/APS-13 Tail Warning Radar

October 31, 2024 by 20 Comments

Although we think of air-to-air radar as a relatively modern invention, it first made its appearance in WWII. Some late war fighters featured the AN/APS-13 Tail Warning Radar to alert the pilot when an enemy fighter was on his tail. In [WWII US Bombers]’ fascinating video we get a deep dive into this fascinating piece of tech that likely saved many allied pilots’ lives.

Fitted to aircraft like the P-51 Mustang and P-47 Thunderbolt, the AN/APS-13 warns the pilot with a light or bell if the aircraft comes within 800 yards from his rear. The system consisted of a 3-element Yagi antenna on the vertical stabilizer, a 410 Mhz transceiver in the fuselage, and a simple control panel with a warning light and bell in the cockpit.

In a dogfight, this allows the pilot to focus on what’s in front of him, as well as helping him determine if he has gotten rid of a pursuer. Since it could not identify the source of the reflection, it would also trigger on friendly aircraft, jettisoned wing tanks, passing flak, and the ground. This last part ended up being useful for safely descending through low-altitude clouds.

This little side effect turned out to have very significant consequences. The nuclear bombs used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki each carried four radar altimeters derived from the AN/APS-13 system.

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Tearing Down Nintendo’s Alarmo Alarm Clock

October 30, 2024 by 5 Comments
All your Nintendo Alarmo are belong to mew~ (Credit: GaryOderNichts, Blogspot)

Most of us will probably have seen Nintendo’s latest gadget pop up recently. Rather than a Switch 2 announcement, we got greeted with a Nintendo-branded alarm clock. Featuring a 2.8″ color LCD and a range of sensors, it can detect and respond to a user, and even work as an alarm clock for the low, low price of €99. All of which takes the form of Nintendo-themed characters alongside some mini-games. Naturally this has led people like [Gary] to buy one to see just how hackable these alarm clocks are.

As can be expected from a ‘smart’ alarm clock it has 2.4 GHz WiFi connectivity for firmware and content download, as well as a 24 GHz millimeter wave presence sensor. Before [Gary] even had received his Alarmo, others had already torn into their unit, uncovering the main MCU (STM32H730ZBI6) alongside a 4 GB eMMC IC, as well as the MCU’s SWD pads on the PCB. This gave [Gary] a quick start with reverse-engineering, though of course the MCU was protected (readout protection, or RDP) against firmware dumps, but the main firmware could be dumped from the eMMC without issues.

After this [Gary] had a heap of fun decrypting the firmware, which seems to always get loaded into the external octal SPI RAM before execution, as per the boot sequence (see featured image). This boot sequence offers a few possibilities for inserting one’s own (properly signed) contents. As it turns out via the USB route arbitrary firmware binaries can be loaded, which provided a backdoor to defeat RDP. Unfortunately the MCU is further locked down with Secure Access Mode, which prevents dumping the firmware again.

So far firmware updates for the Alarmo have not nailed shut the USB backdoor, making further reverse-engineering quite easy for the time being. If you too wish to hack your Alarmo and maybe add some feline charm, you can check [Gary]’s GitHub project.

Clockwork Rover For Venus

October 26, 2024 by 28 Comments

Venus hasn’t received nearly the same attention from space programs as Mars, largely due to its exceedingly hostile environment. Most electronics wouldn’t survive the 462 °C heat, never mind the intense atmospheric pressure and sulfuric acid clouds. With this in mind, NASA has been experimenting with the concept of a completely mechanical rover. The [Beardy Penguin] and a team of fellow students from the University of Southampton decided to try their hand at the concept—video after the break.

The project was divided into four subsystems: obstacle detection, mechanical computer, locomotion (tracks), and the drivetrain. The obstacle detection system consists of three (left, center, right) triple-rollers in front of the rover, which trigger inputs on the mechanical computer when it encounters an obstacle over a certain size. The inputs indicate the position of each roller (up/down) and the combination of inputs determines the appropriate maneuver to clear the obstacle. [Beardy Penguin] used Simulink to design the logic circuit, consisting of AND, OR, and NOT gates. The resulting 5-layer mechanical computer quickly ran into the limits of tolerances and friction, and the team eventually had trouble getting their design to work with the available input forces.

Due to the high-pressure atmosphere, an on-board wind turbine has long been proposed as a viable power source for a Venus rover. It wasn’t part of this project, so it was replaced with a comparable 40 W electric motor. The output from a logic circuit goes through a timing mechanism and into a planetary gearbox system. It changes output rotation direction by driving the planet gear carrier with the sun gear or locking it in a stationary position.

As with many undergraduate engineering projects, the physical results were mixed, but the educational value was immense. They got individual subsystems working, but not the fully integrated prototype. Even so, they received several awards for their project and even came third in an international Simulink challenge. It also allowed another team to continue their work and refine the subsystems. Continue reading “Clockwork Rover For Venus” →

The 1983 Clock Four Decades In The Making

October 21, 2024 by 13 Comments

In 1983, a 14-year-old [Will] saw an LED clock in The Sharper Image store. At $250, it stayed in the store. That was a lot of money back then, especially for most teenagers. But [Will] didn’t forget. After high school, he and a friend planned to build one from scratch. They worked out how they would do it and did a little prototyping, but never really finished. Well, they never really finished at the time. Because 33 years later, [Will] decided to finally put it together. Check it out in the video below.

[Will’s] learned a lot since his original design, plus we have tech today that would have seemed like magic in the late 1980s. But he wanted to stay true to the original design, so there’s no microcontroller or smart LEDs. Just binary counters and a lot of LEDs. There’s even a 555 doing duty as a reset timer.

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Clockwork Derby gameboard

Clockwork Derby: Digital Robo Rally, Steampunk Style

October 16, 2024 by 7 Comments

Inspired by the classic game Robo Rally, [Ytec3D]’s Clockwork Derby takes tabletop gaming to the next level by combining steampunk aesthetics with automation. We recently had the chance to see it live at Hackfest, together with [Ytec3D]’s animatronic tentacle, and we can say that his new take on playful robotics offers a unique experience for game enthusiasts. The 300×420 mm board uses magnets, motors, and card readers to handle up to eight players, creating a smooth, automated version of Robo Rally where players can focus on strategy while the board handles movement.

In Clockwork Derby, game pieces are moved by a magnetic system controlled by the board, which rotates and shifts pieces in real-time. Each player uses a card reader to program moves, with up to five cards per round. The board scans these cards via barcode scanners, so you don’t have to worry about tracking your moves or adjusting game pieces manually. [Ytec3D]’s game rules have been optimized for the automated setup, allowing for smoother gameplay and an emphasis on strategic choices.

The project is a standout for hackers and tinkerers who appreciate blending physical mechanics with digital precision. It’s a great example of how classic games can be modernized with a bit of ingenuity and tech. For those interested in DIY gaming projects or automation, Clockwork Derby is definitely worth exploring. To dive deeper into the build details and see more of the project, visit [Ytec3D]’s project page for an in-person look at this inventive tabletop game!

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