Adding USB-C To An IPhone 13 Is Delicate Work

June 24, 2022 by Zoe Skyforest 4 Comments

USB-C seeks to rule the roost when it comes to connectors, and even has Big Europe on its side. Apple hasn’t had to abandon Lightning just yet, but [Restore Technique] has put a USB-C port into an iPhone 13 to give us all an idea what it’s going to be like in the brave new future ahead of us.

The idea came about after disassembling the iPhone 13, and the project was locked in after seeing the first iPhone with a USB-C connector sell for $86,001 on eBay. The plan had to support fast charging, cable reversibility, and data transfer, without cutting out any functionality or compromising water resistance.

The concept is simple enough: take the C94 board from a Lightning to USB-C cable, and put it inside the phone along with a USB-C port. Of course, actually achieving that is the real challenge. Techniques from melting apart Lightning connectors to carefully peeling apart 0.5 mm pitch flex cables to fit 0.6 mm pitch pads.

It’s an impressive hack, and explained so well it’s actually tempting to try it at home for the sheer challenge of the thing. If you do pull off a similar hack yourself, drop us a line! Video after the break.

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Sea Level Rise From Melting Ice Sheets Could Soon Be Locked In

June 23, 2022 by Zoe Skyforest 124 Comments

Where today we talk broadly of climate change and it’s various effects, the conversation was once simpler. We called it “global warming” and fretted about cooking outside in the summer and the sea level rise that would claim so many of our favorite cities.

Scientists are now concerned that sea level rises could be locked in, as ice sheets and glaciers pass “tipping points” beyond which their loss cannot be stopped. Research is ongoing to determine how best we can avoid these points of no return.

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RGB 7-Segment Display Module Glows In All The Colours

June 19, 2022 by Zoe Skyforest 4 Comments

While 7-segment displays are all well and good, they’re considered a bit old hat these days. This project from [Matt Deeds] brings them screaming into the future, though, sporting every color under the rainbow.

[Matt’s] build consists of a PCB filled with SK6812 side-mount LEDs, laid out in a typical 7-segment pattern. Each PCB features two 7-segment digits. The SK6812 LEDs can be driven in the same way as the famous WS2812B addressable LEDs, though they have the benefit of being more stable in color and brightness over a range of supply voltages.

With the LEDs installed, and a second PCB used solely as a diffuser by leaving out sections of solder mask, it’s a compact 7-segment solution at just 2.7 mm thick. The bonus is that each segment can be set to a different color thanks to the nature of the addressable RGB LEDs. Going too ham in this regard will make the displays difficult to read, but it can be used to easily display green, red, or yellow numbers, for example, to create a visual guide to a numerical range.

It’s a great build, and we love to see 7-segment displays re-imagined in different ways – even mechanically! It also takes fewer pins to drive compared to the old way of doing things in the non-addressable LED era. If you’ve got your own neat 7-segment projects under development, please do let us know!

IKEA LED Lamp Gets Hacked For Night Light Duty

June 18, 2022 by Zoe Skyforest 7 Comments

IKEA make a lot of different lamps, including useful motion-sensitive models that can click on when you walk past. [Andrew Menadue] trialed one as a night light, but it was far too bright for the task. It also would come on during the day time, wasting its precious battery life when it wasn’t needed. Thus, in order to mold the lamp to its new purpose, hacking ensued.

The first step, as it so often is, was to crack open the case and look inside. Preliminary inspections revealed a BISS0001 chip — a simple passive infrared motion sensor. The chip has a function built in that can disable the output from triggering if it detects light. Adding a light-dependent resistor and a further 100K resistor was all that was needed to enable this feature.

Now, the lamp only kicks on if it detects motion at night. Some further tweaks also cut the current limit to the LEDs, reducing the brightness to a more suitable level for night time. [Andrew] now has a useful night light that suits his needs, and likes it so much that he once drove 150 miles to recover one that he left behind on vacation. That’s dedication!

Doodlestation Is Beautifully Musical Furniture

June 18, 2022 by Zoe Skyforest 7 Comments

Whether you’re a modular synth enthusiast or simply love the idea of rad electronic jams, we can all get behind the idea of crazy electronic instruments with buttons, dials, and patch cables galore. The Doodlestation is a wonderful example of that, built by [Love Hulten].

There’s a custom 37-key keyboard that lets one input musical notes in the typical way, along with a hilarious animated MIDI visualizer with a man that uses his mouth to shoot rainbows. There’s a theremin built into the chassis, too, allowing your hands to control the sound via the magic of the æther. Even better, there’s a custom-built tape echo in the upright section, and you even get to see the mechanical parts working and the mag ribbon wiggling about. That’s fun.

The custom hardware is joined by a series of off-the-shelf devices that add their own functionality to the mix. It includes a Sequential OB-6 analog synthesizer, a Moog DFAM drum module, and a Hologram Microcosm loop & glitch box for more noodling possibilities.

We love a good musical project around these parts; we’ve featured some great other projects for live electronic jams before, too. Video after the break.

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Build Your Own Two-Factor Authenticator With Good USB

June 18, 2022 by Zoe Skyforest 19 Comments

Two-factor authentication is becoming the norm for many applications and services, and security concerns around phone porting hacks are leading to a phaseout of SMS-based systems. Amidst that backdrop, [Josh] developed his own authentication device by the name of Good USB.

The device can be built using a Arduino Leonardo, SS Micro, or even a BadUSB device. It’s the latter which [Josh] most liked, and since the nefarious device is being repurposed for good, it led to the name Good USB. Basically any Atmega32U4-based device will work, as the key functionality is the ability to emulate a USB keyboard to a host PC.

Using the device is just as simple. With the Good USB plugged in, one simply needs to click a button in the companion app to generate a code for the given account you’re logging in to. Pressing the button on the device then types in the code for you. Alternatively, if your device has no button, it can be set up to simply type the code two seconds after you select an account in the companion app.

The code is on Github for those wishing to make their own. Caveat for the cautious: it’s still a work in progress, and there may be security holes in the current implementation.

If you’re interested in the nuts and bolts of how 2FA works, we’ve looked into that in detail. Video after the break.

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DOOM Ported To Sega Naomi Arcade Hardware

June 17, 2022 by Zoe Skyforest 8 Comments

Porting DOOM to new hardware and software platforms is a fun pastime for many in the hacker scene. [DragonMinded] noticed that nobody had ported the game to the Sega Naomi arcade hardware, and set about doing so herself.

The port builds on work by [Kristoffer Andersen] who built a framebuffer port of DOOM previously. It’s available pre-compiled, complete with the shareware WAD for those eager to load it up on their own Naomi arcade cabinets.

Unlike some limited ports that only give the appearance of a functional version of DOOM, this port is remarkably complete. Loading, saving, and options menus are all present and accounted for, as well as directional sound and even WAD auto-discovery. With that said, there’s only 32 KB of space for save games on the Naomi hardware, so keep that in mind if you find yourself playing regularly.

We love a good DOOM port, whether it’s on an arcade machine, an old forgotten Apple OS, or even a UFI module.

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