TV-B-Gone-zilla! Rawr!

October 7, 2009 by Phil Burgess 34 Comments

tv-zilla

TV-B-Gone: antisocial nuisance or harmless prank? Whatever your feelings, there’s no denying this device has become a staple of the DIY hacking crowd, as evidenced by the countless derivatives since hatched. This latest mutation crushes them all.

[manekinen] from the Polish electronics blog Elektroda (“Electrode”) wasn’t satisfied with high-power TV-B-Gone designs using multiple 5mm infrared LEDs, so he created his own using a single one-Watt monster. The device is concealed in an ordinary flashlight casing, making it somewhat inconspicuous. A custom PCB containing an ultra-minimalist version of the TV-B-Gone circuitry sits just behind the reflector. The choice of reflectors determined maximum distance vs. coverage…they opted for distance. Specific figures aren’t given, but we estimate this thing could shut off televisions on Mars.

The original article (Polish or Google-ized English) includes construction photos and an archive (.rar) of project files including Eagle schematics and C source code.

Would it be totally irresponsible to mention there’s now a 3-Watt version of this LED? We’re just sayin’.

[thanks RicoElectrico]

Add IR Control To Your WiFi Router

September 29, 2009 by Mike Szczys 6 Comments

wrt54g_ir_receiver

[Craig] wanted to use Boxee on his TV but his computer was in a different room. He rigged up a rather dubious method of delivering the A/V signal (this is a hack in the most guttural sense). More interesting to us is his solution for a remote control interface. We’re familiar with building USB connected infrared receivers but [Craig] decided to patch one into the serial connection on his Linksys WRT54G router. Continue reading “Add IR Control To Your WiFi Router” →

Virtual Pool, Real-world Interface

September 21, 2009 by Phil Burgess 9 Comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Wc_DXGe2fQ]

Sunday we saw robots playing pool and an augmented reality pool game. Today we’ll complete the pool trifecta: virtual pool using a real cue stick and ball in another vintage video from Hack a Day’s secret underground vault. The video is noteworthy for a couple of reasons:

First is the year it was made: 1990. There’s been much buzz lately over real-world gaming interfaces like the Nintendo Wii motion controller or Microsoft’s Project Natal. Here we’re seeing a much simpler but very effective physical interface nearly twenty years prior.

Second: the middle section of the video reveals the trick behind it all, and it turns out to be surprisingly simple. No complex sensors or computer vision algorithms; the ball’s speed and direction are calculated by an 8-bit processor and a clever arrangement of four infrared emitter/detector pairs.

The visuals may be dated, but the interface itself is ingenious and impressive even today, and the approach is easily within reach of the casual garage tinkerer. What could you make of this? Is it just a matter of time before we see a reader’s Mini-Golf Hero III game here?

Passive Infrared (PIR) Sensor Tutorial

August 21, 2009 by Phil Burgess 18 Comments

pirsensor

[ladyada] has a freshly-published and amazingly thorough tutorial on passive infrared (PIR) motion sensors. Most often seen in security floodlights and automatic doors, in creative hands these sensors can be put to other uses—cat flaps, camera triggers and purely artistic applications—as you’ll see in several demo projects and videos. For the curious, the tutorial provides a good amount of background theory on how PIR sensors work, along with the associated fresnel lens optics. And for those who just want to get hacking, most PIR sensors (like the one above) come in a simple-to-interface module containing all the support hardware and providing a simple digital output; the article wraps up with one such example.

Poor Man’s Thermographic Camera

July 1, 2009 by Steve Watkins 24 Comments

thermographic camera

Using an IR thermometer, there are two ways to go about building a thermographic camera. The first uses a pan and tilt head. Scan lines are emulated, as a computer controls panning from left to right, taking a temperature sample from each step. Vertical resolution is accomplished by tilting. Another method uses a web cam attached to the thermometer. The thermometer’s laser pointer is captured with temperature annotations, as the computer records the field of view. We think the best outcome can be found with a combination of both methods. The video embedded below demonstrates the results. This would be a good addition to the Autonomous paintball sentry.

Continue reading “Poor Man’s Thermographic Camera” →

Magic Wands For Disney

May 17, 2009 by Caleb Kraft 13 Comments

[NRP] sent us a few of his projects. The most notable of the bunch was a school project funded by Disney. They were to make some kind of interactive entertainment for people waiting in line for rides. They decided on a wand style interface. Each wand has an accelerometer, an IR LED for tracking, an XBee unit, and a few buttons for interaction. They wrote some custom games and a multi person white board to test it all out. You can see those in action, along with a space themed pong game in the video after the break. Even though this was funded by Disney, you can still find all the source code and schematics, available for free.

Continue reading “Magic Wands For Disney” →

Quick Cheap Remote Outlets

January 19, 2009 by Caleb Kraft 16 Comments

ir_plugs1

[jwad650] wanted a remote controlled power strip. These are fairly expensive, with a single outlet running roughly $15. He was able to build a 6 outlet version for about $50. He is using an SIS-7c to decode signals from a universal remote. Each plug is individually controlled by a 3Amp relay. Be careful making this, there’s lots of nasty shock potential in that mess of wires. We recommend that you confine it in an enclosure as well. [jwad650] plans on adding an enclosure, as well as LED indicators and fuses. You can see a video of it in action after the break. If you want more information about working with relays, check out the working with relays writeup.

Continue reading “Quick Cheap Remote Outlets” →