[Matt] sent in this excellent wifi finder reverse engineering project. The goal is to enable custom embedded apps that take advantage of the independent operating mode of the wireless adapter. One of the chips lacked any useful manufacturer markings, so he got some guys at a lab to etch the top of the chip off and get a partial chip id. So far he’s got boot-loader access, so now it’s just a matter of some development.
Misc Hacks4181 Articles
Backlight Your LCDs
[Artur] sent in this instructable showing how to make your own back-lighting for LCD displays. It’s a simple process, but I thought it deserved some attention given the cost difference for back-lit LCDs. It’s also a good exercise if you’re building your own projector and considering removing the polarizing film.
Hackit: Your Ultimate Hacking Workbench
This isn’t quite a traditional Hackit, but I think you guys will dig it. Here’s the challenge: Given a budget of $600, put together the best hacking workbench you can. Don’t include computers or the actual bench in your budget. Oh, and you have to spend it all.
By the way, the best five submissions will get a chance to win a secret prize that I’ll be announcing around the end of next month.
Add Everything To Your EeePC
[C.K.] passed along this impressive writeup on modding an eeePC for just about everything you can think to add. This one’s got two four port USB hubs, internal GPS, bluetooth, 56k modem, FM audio transmitter, 4gb USB flash drive and a 801.11a/b/g/n card with a spare antenna for full 802.11n support. The wiring job looks excellent – very clean and well done. The only thing missing is a touchscreen.
Modding Old Organ Bits Into A Guitar Amps
[Forrest] sent in his Hammonator Organ that he resurrected into a guitar amp. He re-used several of the original parts, and designed the amplifier around them. Tubes were chosen to fit the sockets, and the original transformer was adapted to run on the 120V usually found today.
Bluetooth Headset For PSP/PS2
[Shane] put together this funky bluetooth headset hack so he could use his headset with both his PSP and his PS/2. It starts with a Cardo Bluetooth adapter. He added both a PSP headset style connector and a standard 2.5mm plug to a custom pigtail. Then he can use it with either a PSP headset remote or a modified USB PS/2 headset adapter.
UV Light Table
[Jared]’s back in action over at Inventgeek. Now he’s got an odd use for an old LCD: creating an ultraviolet light polarizing table. He gutted the LCD and swapped out the CCFL lams for some UV versions. The result isn’t much more than an interesting conversation piece, but it’s nice to see a use for screens that would otherwise end up in the recycle bin.
