Make Custom Dash Mods (ipod Dock)


[Daniel ] sent in this one, from an O’Reilly book, it’s older but the results are just stunning. The iPod dock has been done countless times, but the really interesting part is the custom dash molding technique. The cradle was mocked up with clay on the original piece, then a silicon mold was cast from the mock up. After that, the entire piece was re-created inside the mold. After some dremel work and a bit of sanding, it came out beautifully. It looks like a great way to make custom LCD/GPS dash inserts.

IPod Dock Extension Cable


I’ve lost count of the number of emails from people looking for these things, so here it is. The hardest part of [Mike’s] little hack is the soldering. The pins on those iPod connectors are just evil to solder. You’ll need the patience of a saint.

I’ve worked with these same connectors and I came up with an easier, if bulkier method of soldering those things in my iPod super dock How-To.

Nike IPod Hacking


Someone else’s apathy often becomes someones motivation. The guys at Gordian Labs got sick of trying to use Nike’s website so they dug into their iPods to find the data generated by the iPod+Nike running shoe add on. Then they put together a handy site for processing the data from the iPod. The site also accepts GPX data, so you can combine it with GPS data to track your runs and your routes. After they showed it to me, I prodded them and they put together a short How-To on getting the data under Mac, Windows and Linux.

IPod NES Controller

[F00 f00] sent in his excellent piece of iPod artistry. It’s one of the most original iPod hacks I’ve seen yet. (Aside from his funky dock) I haven’t checked up on the latest iPod dock specification, but I’d guess he’s sending the command signals via the serial (TTL) interface with a microcontroller(pic/atmel etc) to encode the button presses.

Happy Halloween Extra


[Update: pumpkin carved by Team Hack-A-Day member mastershake916]

We’ve got plenty of tricks around here, and I’ve got a treat coming up – you’ll hear about it in the next podcast.

[Ronald Schaten] sent me his USB LED fader. ATMega, PWM lit LEDs, he uses it to indicate status on his pvr.

[computerguru365] sent in his cell phone car charger turned USB cable

[steve] sent in this over the top C64DTV mod.

[Everett] sent along his button activated PSP shoulder lighting.Nice tiny soldering work for that on.

[Jorge] sent in his friends latest junk art metal lathe. Not an easy thing to build – Nice!

[gijs] sent me this crazy bent Casio SK-1. We’ve had a few of these on Hackaday before.

[seniorcheez] sent in his iPod shuffle dock with integrated power and tunecast.

Solar Backpack Ipod/usb Charger


Jason sent me his solar ipod charger how-to. The regulator may not be neccesary – but there are so many models, I don’t know if the new Nano’s hold up to the old power input standard. He put a 7805 regulator on a 6v 100ma flexible panel that he mounted on his backpack. I’ve seen this sort of thing on a shuffle before, but this one should work for most iPods. USB power management sometimes shoots itself in the foot, but iPods are willing to pull power if it’s not present. It’s nice, clean and simple. I’d consider adding some high temp hot glue (or epoxy)to keep the soldered connections from breaking.