Hacked AC And Ash Filter

August 14, 2010 by Mike Szczys 26 Comments

Moscow is in a bit of a hot spot right now, dealing with a heat wave and enormous wildfires. The combination of smoke, ash, and heat was driving Andrew up a wall so he built a contraption to provide some relief. It has two chambers, the bottom houses ice water, the top is an air baffle. A small DC fan pumps air into the upper chamber where it encounters the water being sprayed in from the lower reservoir. What results is a heat exchange similar to other diy AC setups we’ve seen. But Andrew also notes that after running the device for a while the smell of smoke and ash is gone. Can this setup be seen as an effective way to trap airborne smoke particles?

Adding A Microphone Jack To A HAM Radio Handset

August 8, 2010 by Caleb Kraft 18 Comments

[dajjhman] wrote in to show us how he added a microphone jack to the handset of his Yaesu radio while retaining the DTMF functions. He states that there were some adapters available on the market, but they are non standard and didn’t really fit his needs. The modification itself is pretty simple, especially with his great documentation and clear pictures. For anyone else who might need this setup, this should be a great resource.

Making Home Automation Modules Talk To Each Other

August 4, 2010 by Mike Szczys 12 Comments

[Danny] has been working on an RNET to Sonos bridge. These are devices from two different manufacturers used to facility whole-house audio systems. Usually there’s a main controller with a large color screen and then several satellite controllers like the one above which have some of the features but at a lower cost. Normally you’re limited to using hardware from one line of devices in order to get them to talk to each other but [Danny’s] saying ‘no way’ to that restriction.

His latest post has some of the details on how he pulls this off. He used an RS232 serial connection with an Arduino to sniff out the data stream from the RNET base unit. Once he figured out the protocol he used the Arduino to parse all incoming commands, format them for the Sonos controller, and send it over the Ethernet cable to that device. He’s got everything tied together and working. Take a look at the proof in the clip after the break.

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Network Enabled Window Air Conditioner

August 4, 2010 by Mike Szczys 20 Comments

It’s no secret that the central US is feels like a very humid oven right now. [Erik’s] window AC hack might help you out if you’re coping with triple-digit temperatures. He added network connectivity to the unit above but the picture is a bit deceiving. The blue CAT-5 cable that enters the bottom isn’t connecting directly to the network, but extends the up and down button connections for the unit to an external relay board. From there he uses an SNMP board to connect it to the network and uses PHP commands to reset the temperature. The unit has a working range of 66-88 degrees Fahrenheit so he cycles enough button press to reach the maximum or minimum level, then sets the desired temperature (avoiding the need to know what temperature the unit is currently set at).

If you’ve got an AC unit with a remote control you could always use an IR device to patch into the system for similar functionality.

Doorbell Combo Lock Can Open Your Garage Door

August 2, 2010 by Mike Szczys 24 Comments

Sometimes I get enough away from writing about other people’s accomplishments long enough to actually do my own hacks. Most recently I developed a combination lock that opens the garage door. The idea isn’t original, it is based on [Alan Parekh’s] button code project, but I did develop my own hardware and software. A four digit code is entered by pressing the button a number of times for the first digit, and waiting for a flash of an LED inside before moving on to the next digit. If the correct code is entered the door opens.

My version centers around an ATtiny13. I originally downloaded [Alan’s] code in hopes that I could port the PIC firmware over pretty easily. Unfortunately it was written in BASIC so I just took what I knew about the interface and wrote my own program. I developed on an ATmega168 so that I would have no trouble running out of programming space, and was able to optimize my code down to 964 bytes to fit on the tiny13.

The hardware is quite simple. I purchased a lighted doorbell from Home Depot and swapped out the light bulb for an LED. I choose this because the doorbell mounts in a 5/8″ hole in the trim of the garage door and is easily overlooked. I’m quite happy with the results, and if you want to play around with the idea, you can easily build the circuit on a breadboard and use another LED for the load rather than including a relay. Hit the link at the top of this post for the schematic, code, and build images.

Save A Baby, Nursery Temperature Monitor

August 1, 2010 by Jakob Griffith 36 Comments

Yes, you could argue this Nursery Room Temperature Monitor is simply an LED and an Arduino with a temperature sensor, but [Jay] really did put more thought into the process. For instance he stuck with AVR, built a wooden base and sanded globe, and even included schematics and source code. Plus, SIDS is no laughing matter and the more you know, the more it can be prevented. Back on point, one thing we would add is PWM for a more gradual change in color. What would you add?

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DIY Picture Frame Better Than Store Bought

July 30, 2010 by Mike Szczys 22 Comments

[Daniel’s] homemade digital picture frame looks great, it’s well-built, and it has a nice set of features. It’s not made from a broken laptop and he didn’t build it around a microcontroller. Instead, he saved a 19″ LCD monitor with a burnt out back light caused by the extremely common blown capacitor problem. Twenty dollars on eBay landed him a small industrial single board computer to drive the system.

The software end of things is a curious conglomeration but considering the hardware constraints [Daniel] made some great choices. He’s using MS-DOS along with LxPic for slide shows and Mplayer for video. The rest of the software gets him up on the home network and enables IR remote control via LIRC. All o this makes for a beautiful product (video after the break includes some Doom footage) and the package is pulling just 40W when in use.