classic hacks

2705 Articles

Reverse Engineering WyzeSense Hardware

June 11, 2019 by 6 Comments

Wyze are a company that produces a variety of home automation products. Their Wyze Sense package is a system of contact and PIR home security sensors, that piggy backs off their Wyze Cam product. In the interests of being able to use this hardware outside the prescribed corporate ecosystem, [Xuan Xing] got down to hacking.

The project starts by tearing down the Wyze Cam, and getting serial console access. This was made easier by an existing Github project, which develops custom firmwares for smart cameras. With that in place he was able to see what was going on under the hood, and read the camera’s system logs.

By poring over these logs, and examining the disassembled Wyze Sense dongle, he’s well on the way to discovering how the sensors communicate with the Wyze Cam. The end goal is to enable the Wyze security sensors to be used with the Raspberry Pi platform, and to share the code on Github for other makers to experiment with.

Home automation platforms come and go quicker than the seasons change. This makes the hardware a popular target for hackers trying to get things running independently of any one company’s servers.

Injection Molding With A Hot Glue Gun

June 11, 2019 by 11 Comments

Injection molding is an industrial process used the world over for the quick and economical production of plastic parts. [Nikodem Bartnik] wanted to experiment with this at home, so whipped up some molds and got to work (Youtube link, embedded below).

[Nikodem] produced aluminium molds, using a Dremel-based CNC platform. This allowed for the design to be created in CAD software, and helps with the production of the geometry for both the part, as well as the gates and vents. Having learned about thermal issues with an early attempt, the mold was then clamped in a vice. Wood was used as an insulator to minimise heat lost to the vice.

With this setup, it was possible to mold M5 washers using hot glue, with good surface finish. Later attempts with a larger mold were unsuccessful, due to the glue cooling off before making it through the entire mold. [Nikodem] has resolved to improve his setup, and we look forward to seeing what happens next. We’ve seen others experiment in this area before, too. Video after the break.

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Google Home Mini Gets A Headphone Jack

June 11, 2019 by 19 Comments

The Google Home Mini can be a useful home assistant device. It can set reminders, tell you the weather, and even play you music. [Brian] had a few lying around, and decided he wanted to hook one up to a beefier set of speakers. Thus, he installed a headphone jack into the Google Home Mini.

The quick and dirty approach to such a task is to solder a jack to the speaker connections. However, this is an amplified signal, rather than a line level signal suitable for feeding to an amplifier. It’s also mono only. The Google Home Mini uses the TAS5720L mono digital amplifier chip, and some investigation with a logic analyzer and a datasheet allowed [Brian] to figure out the format of the I2C digital audio signal.

With this knowledge in hand, [Brian] hacked in a PCM5102A digital amplifier chip to the Google Home Mini. It can accept audio data in the same format as the TAS5720L, and is readily available on eBay for use with the Raspberry Pi and other maker platforms. With a 3D printed baseplate and some careful soldering, [Brian] was able to integrate the stereo amplifier and a headphone jack neatly into the Google Home.

Unfortunately, the audio output is only two mono channels rather than true stereo, as the device outputs the same data on both left and right  channels in the I2C data. Regardless, the hack works, and [Brian] now has a high-quality voice assistant that he can hook up to a decent pair of speakers.

Doom On The NES

June 6, 2019 by 19 Comments

“But can it run Doom?” is perhaps the final test of hacking a platform. From calculators to thermostats, we’ve seen Doom shoehorned into a lot of different pieces of hardware. Many times we’re left scratching our heads at the mashup, and this is no exception.

[TheRasteri] wasn’t satisfied with the existing ports of Doom, so he decided to bring the classic game to a classic console, the NES. In the video embedded after the break, he helpfully points out the system requirements for running Doom, and compares them with the specifications of the NES. Spoilers: not nearly enough.

How did he manage the feat? Taking inspiration from Nintendo’s own SuperFX chip, he embedded a co-processor in the cartridge, and fed the video stream from the cartridge back into the NES. It might not be fair to call it a co-processor, since it’s a Raspberry Pi with thousands of times the processing power of the 6502 that powers the NES. The idea might seem familiar, and in fact it was partially inspired by [Tom7]’s similar hack last year.

Using a Cypress USB controller to feed the graphics bus, [TheRasteri] is able to run Doom on the Raspberry Pi, take the visuals from the game, and convert them into blocks of graphics the NES expects to load from the cartridge. The best trick is that he apparently managed to squeeze everything into a normal NES cartridge. He plans to release a build video on his channel, so keep an eye out.

Meanwhile, don’t forget to take a look at those calculators and thermostats we mentioned.

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Gamifying Household Chores Helps Get The Kids To Pitch In

June 5, 2019 by 5 Comments

It’s rare to find anyone that gets excited about doing chores. This can lead to members of a household abrogating their duties. In these cases, enforcement is a common tactic. Tired of laminated chore grids and inconsistent results, [alastair-a] decided to tech up with an electronic chore tracking system.

[alastair-a]’s Task Manager is based around an Arduino Nano, fitted with the ever-popular HD44780-compatible LCD screen. Interfacing with the unit is via rotary encoder and RFID tag, while a real-time clock module keeps track of the time.

A custom data structure is used to manage tasks. This allows varying frequencies to be set for different tasks, as well as keeping track of the time of completion by different users. Each user has their own personal RFID tag, which can be swiped across the reader to indicate when a chore has been done.

The initial intent was to have the device print reports each week in order to reward the best performing members of the household. However, [alastair-a] reports the device was so popular with the younger members of the household, that they seem to have forgotten about rewards entirely!

We’ve seen chore reminders before; it’s often popular to build them as IoT devices.

Motion Tracking Face Really Does Follow You Around The Room

June 4, 2019 by 15 Comments

Many of us have had the experience of viewing an artwork in a gallery, in which the eyes appear to follow one around the room. In our high-technology work, this no longer need be achieved with artistic skill. You can just build something that actually moves instead.

Chartreuse is the creation of [alynton], and has a personality all its own. A face was created out of laser cut wood, and assembled layer by layer. It was then given glowing LED eyes, and mounted on a rotating plate. Combined with an Arduino and an ultrasonic sensor, it’s capable of tracking targets moving within its field of view, and rotating to follow them. Chartreuse’s expression changes as well, with from happy to forlorn, depending on the situation.

It’s a great example of the artistic results that can be achieved by layering lasercut materials, as well as how art can be brought to life with simple maker staples like servos and microcontrollers. Motion tracking has plenty of useful applications, too – like aiming heat directly at cold humans. Video after the break.

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Yet Another Robotic Rubik’s Solver

June 3, 2019 by 4 Comments

The Rubik’s Cube was a smash hit when it came out in 1974, and continues to maintain a following to this day. It can be difficult to solve, but many take up the challenge. The Arduino Rubik’s Solver is a robot that uses electronics and maths to get the job done.

The system consists of computer-based software and a hardware system working in concert to solve the cube. Webcam images are processed on a computer which determines the current state of the cube, and the necessary moves required to solve it. The solving rig is constructed from steel rods, lasercut acrylic, and 3D printed parts, along with an Arduino and six stepper motors. The Arduino receives instructions from the solving computer over USB serial link. These are then used to command the stepper motors to manipulate the cube in the correct fashion.

It’s no speed demon, but the contraption is capable of solving a cube without any problems. Manipulation of the cube is reliable and smooth, and the build is neat and tidy thanks to its carefully designed components. Of course, there are now even Rubik’s Cubes that can solve themselves. Video after the break.

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