[matt] wrote me a couple weeks ago wondering how to build a robotic arm that can load and load/unload a CD or DVD from a drive. I told him about one built out of wood that I couldn’t find the link for. Matt wrote back to say he had found the Home built CD changer contraption. The design is pretty simple and uses gravity for downward movement, so you don’t have to worry about a motor slamming the head into the desk.

He also pointed out the one built by Ben out of Legos. He used it to rip his collection of CDs for his Squeezebox. You’ll remember his caller ID project from last week.

Continue reading “DIY Optical Disc Duplicator” →

[wesley mcgrew] has been playing around with Sandisk’s U3 Smart USB Drives technology. U3 is designed to make implementation of portable applications easier. The USB drive appears as a  CDROM drive and can autorun applications. Wesley has a guide for how to patch in your own CD ISO. This ties in pretty well with the dangers of USB drives that we’ve covered before (one, two) and Schneier has a recent post on USB security issues as well.

[UPDATE: [matt] pointed out a recent Security Catalyst podcast with Abe Usher on podslurping]

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[ned]’s HandySwipe is a portable magnetic card reader. It runs on 4 AA batteries and collects data from track 2 cards. It uses a PIC 16F688 and displays the card’s data on a small LCD. It can store up to 50 cards and dump them in CSV format. It will also output the raw bitstream for use with Acidus’s StripeSnoop. Ned’s project write up is pretty interesting since he covers using a logic analyzer while swiping a card and driving the LCD with only three pins using a shift register.

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Vinyl cutters can be very expensive, so [vinyl hacker] decided to share with us the alternate route some people have taken. Here is what you need to get started: An old HP pen plotter with a serial connection. A compatible serial cable. A blade holder (Roland blade holders don’t fit). Some Roland vinyl blades. Cutting software like SignGo of DAHEDIsign. Vinyl (found in sign shop dumpsters). The main resource for these plotter/cutters seems to be luberth.com. It’s hard to navigate, but all of the info you need should be there. Now you can cut stickers, stencils, small signs for very little money.

Continue reading “Old Pen Plotter Converted To Vinyl Cutter” →

I love waking up and finding a great project from a reader like this ergonomic mouse (cache). As you can see from the picture, the centerpiece is the massive scroll wheel made from a VCR head. He credits jpaturzo for the idea. The inertia of the wheel gives a lot better sense of how fast you are progressing through a document than methods like auto-scroll. The mouse is assumed to be more ergonomic because it keeps the bones in your forearm in line. The hand rest on the mouse is formed from Shapelock.

Continue reading “Ergonomic Vertical Mouse” →

I’m sure many of you remember me recruiting a new writer to work with me on how-tos for Engadget. Will O’Brien was one of the many who answered the call and has been cranking out quality projects. Today’s is modifying a standard R/C transmitter for use as a computer joystick. This “trainer” can be used with flight simulation software so you can practice flying without risking your plane. This is the first step in a future project.

Check out Will’s previous posts: Surface mount soldering iron, Popcorn popper coffee roaster, and Scaling video for better HDTV viewing.

Continue reading “How-To: Real Controls For R/C Flight Simulation” →

Keelog.com has a really concise description of how to build a PS/2 based keylogger. The main components are an AT89C2051 microcontroller and a 24C512 serial EEPROM. Once it is plugged in, the device begins recording all of the codes generated by the keyboard. The data can then be dumped using their keygrab software.

[thanks Boss]

Continue reading “Hardware Keylogger” →