Friday, September 30, 2011

Wall Warts As Power Supplies For DIY Projects

Everyone's got them, an old power transformer or "wall wart" for some unknown electronic device that has been thrown away, was broken by the electronic gremlins, or lost into the sands of time.  


Some might throw out these unmatched power supplies but most just wrap the cord around the chunky black plastic cube and throw it into a box, which is only pawed through when the power supply to your existing device goes missing.  


One other use that might not have occurred to many is the use of those wall warts as the next power supply in your awesome DIY electronics project!


The folks over at digital-diy.com have a great, multipage, write up on how you can use these under utilized power supplies with your DIY electronics projects.  The article, nine pages to be exact, covers the following topics:

  • Background and Use of AC/DC Power Supplies
  • Linear Supplies
  • Regulated Supplies
  • Switching Power Supplies
  • Practicality Of Using AC/DC Power Supplies
  • A Brief Look At 5v Power Supplies

It's a great article and has very useful info, especially if you have any questions on how to incorporate power supplies into electronics projects.  


So go get that box of black cubes and twisted licorice strands and grab that chunky monkey one, you know from that one thing you had back in the 90's, that went "woop, woop woop" but now can't remember where you put it, yeah that one and put it back to use!


Hope you enjoyed this post and thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Schuyler Towne FREE 24-Part Online Lockpicking Course

In a previous post, DIY Non Destructive Entry(NDE) - aka Lockpicking, Schuyler Towne gave a talk at Defcon 19 on the various ways, methods, and even a bit of history of lockpicking.  Schuyler has now gone on to found openlocksport.com where you can find out more info on the art of lockpicking, the tools involved, and training needed.

Schuyler has also created a 24 part course, completely free of charge, on how to perform lockpicking and has placed this valuable info up onto youtube!

Below you can find the first video in the series as well as this link to the playlist on youtube for the entire 24 episode course .  If you like these videos and would like to keep up on all things lockpicking and the locksport hobby you might also want to subscribe to his youtube channel as well!




Hope you enjoyed this post and thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Makerbot TV S01E04 - MK7 Extruder

Episode 4 of Makerbot TV, from the weekly video series at Makerbot Industries, has just been delivered to the masses.  While somewhat light on content this episode its still very entertaining.  This episode is primarily about the MK7 Extruder and its use of the new 1.75mm filament.


The MK7 is the "next big thing" for the makerbot machines, or any 3D printer machine based on the rep-rap model, because they've compacted the design so you can fit two into the same build area as the old stepstruder!  It should be noted that the MK7 itself doesn't have dual extrusion, you have to get TWO MK7's to do dual extrusion.


Dual extrusion, via the beta software, of two different colors of filament, or IMHO, two different types of plastics is a big jump forward for the home 3d printers!  The main reason you'd want to print out and item with two different types of plastics is that one plastic would be your end product while the second plastic could be some water based plastic that can be washed/melted/blasted away after you're done printing that's used as a support structure.  This use of a base plastic and a support plastic would allow for very complex prints in one go with out the need for assembly.  Very Cool.  Traditionally this was only available on high end 3d printers.


A Single MK7 is available for purchase and the dual extrusion software is still in beta(and requires two MK7's), but this new makerbot tech upgrade looks very promising.  Here is the fairly short video:





Hope you enjoyed this post and thanks for stopping by!

Monday, September 26, 2011

Password Cracking 101

Over on Tinkernut.com they've created a short video(which you can find below) on how passwords are easily hacked and what you can do to prevent the ease of your password from being compromised.

It's a nice simple video which gets the point across, which is that passwords, like most things, are faulty, prone to breakdowns and have inherent weaknesses.  The video also provides you info on how to increase the difficulty of your password being compromised.  You can also find at tinkernut  the 500 worst passwords of all time, a pdf unlocker, and complexity hacking stats.

If you like the video and wish to dive into a deeper discussion, check out the previous post Passwords, Weak, Hackable, and Hard To Remember where you can find a link to an excellent write up by Jeff Powell on everything you wanted to know about passwords and were afraid to ask.




Hope you enjoyed this post and thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Makerbot TV S01E03 - Maker Faire NYC

Over at Makerbot industries they're now producing a weekly video series of everything "awesome" about anything having to do with the Makerbot.

Makerbot TV episode 3 heads to the Maker Faire NYC of course! Check out all the 3D printed goodness featured at the NYC Faire and and the turtle racing track in action! Also the big news is that the new makerbot extruder the MK7 is a Dual Extruder! You can see some of the results in the video below such as the 3D printed Blue and Green Earth!


Hope you enjoyed this post and thanks for stopping by!

Monday, September 19, 2011

Blackhat 2010 DMCA and ACTA Abuse Discussion

A must see discussion from last years Blackhat 2010 convention of how the DMCA and the ACTA can be used to essentially squelch fair use, thwart competitors, and obstruct dissenting opinions.  


Check out the video below, which weighs in at an hour and eleven min, then head over to project dod site, home.dod.net, for more info about them and to support their efforts to fight this abuse.  You can head over to Chris Mooney's page, who is the current active executive director of project dod, and one of the presenters in the video, to snag the white papers (.pdfs) on the presentation.





Hope you enjoyed this post and thanks for stopping by!

Friday, September 16, 2011

DIY NDE - Non-Destructive-Entry - AKA Lockpicking

This is an excellent talk given by Schuyler Towne at Defcon 19 on how various security devices can be bypassed with mundane items.  Also he speaks a bit on some of the history of these devices and what items you can use to make your own lock picks of which includes of all things a Popsicle Stick!


The main point of all this is that if you know how your security devices can be comprised you can defend against those attacks or at the very least minimize the those risks.  Also being informed how easily a device can be bypassed allows you to make better buying decisions when you do decide to purchase a security device.


Also as Schuyler states, don't pick any lock that you or others rely on because locks can and do break. If you do decide to pick a lock only pick a lock that you own and one you don't rely on, unless of course you don't mind screwing yourself over.


So check out the video, it runs about 42 min, and there is a little f-bombing in the beginning by the guy introducing Schuyler, but the rest of the video is ok to watch, after all Schuyler's Mom's will be watching this video. Hehe.





Hope you enjoyed this post and thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

8x8 Matrix LED and Solar Power Boards - Launchpad MSP430

For those of us with the MSP430 Launchpad Microcontrollers these two products may be of interest and can be found over at olimex.com.



The First is a 8x8 LED board that has connectors for the launchpad as well as other 8x8 Matrix LED boards.  These left sided connectors allow you to chain a bunch together to form a scrolling readouts, animations, or other cool projects.  You could configure them in alternate ways too with a bit of wiring or some bending, I'm thinking of a cube! Also each board has a buzzer and a microphone! Here are the specs:

  • Launchpad connectors
  • LED8x8 brick connector
  • Microphone
  • Buzzer
  • FR-4, 1.5 mm (0,062"), red soldermask, white silkscreen component print
SUPPORTED DEVICES: all devices which can be used on MSP430-Launchpad
DIMENSIONS: 66x51 mm (2,6x2,0") 



You can find more info HERE.



The second product is a a Solar Panel Battery Charger.  This looks like it is to be used with a 1.2v single battery and will fully charge a 800mAh battery in 10hrs of direct sunlight.  So if you're designing a project with a lipo battery you can use this board to charge up your project when your power needs require it affording you have nice sunny days.  This could be adapted for many outdoor projects, e.g., low power monitoring station for a mini-greenhouse, lighting for the greenhouse, etc.  Here are the specs:

  • SOLAR PANEL 2.4VDC 80mA with DC/DC voltage boost converter
  • JTAG connector for direct plug in MSP430 2x7 JTAG connector to provide power for the target board
  • suitable for up to 800mAh rechargeble battery, 800mAh battery will be charged to 100% if MSP430-SOLAR is left for 10 hours on sun light
  • Dimensions: 56x48 mm (2.2x1.9")
You can find more info HERE.



Hope you enjoyed this post and thanks for stopping by!

Monday, September 12, 2011

Makerbot TV S01E02 Is Live!

Over at Makerbot industries they're now producing a weekly video series of everything "awesome" about anything having to do with the Makerbot.


The second  video is up and weighs in at 5:03  min.  I was kind of hoping for a more in depth and longer episode, at least 15 min, but it looks like they're trying to fit everything into 5 min webisodes.  Even so be sure to check it out after the jump.





This time around the video highlights the preparations for the upcoming Maker Faire NY, the developer of the turtle shell racer (irl mario cart anyone!) Skimbal, how to calibrate your Makerbot for optimal 3D printing, and a contest where the best design for a Makerbot mascot will win a Makerbot! (see video for details)

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Makerbot TV! - Episode 1

Over at Makerbot industries they're now producing a weekly video series of everything "awesome" about anything having to do with the Makerbot.  The first video is up and weighs in at 5:46  min, so be sure to check it out after the jump.


I absolutely love 3D Printing and would certainly like to have a Makerbot, however I always wanted a larger build area and higher resolution that can be had with the Makerbot.  The rep rap series, of which the makerbot was birthed from, does have larger build areas but they too have similar issues with resolution of the prints. As noted in the video you can sand and smooth the plastic with a bit of sand paper and then wiping down with acetone to smooth out the lines.


One new prospect of home 3D printing is using a normal projector and UV sensitive resin for really high quality and durable prints.  The only drawback I see with this design again the size of the build area, as you have to have a wide "vat of resin" and since the printing occurs "upside down" you'd have to have a pretty tall z axis.  The other questions regarding this method is how sensitive is the resin to light?  In the videos its pretty clear the resin sits behind a protective plastic filter.  Do you have to drain the resin when the printer isn't in use?  The creator hasn't said too much but that it should be comparable to today's home 3D Printers in the $1000 price range.  Here is a video of some of his work:





Of course you could always just print an object in pieces and then puzzle it together.  To be honest most of my print projects wouldn't be anything more than an 8x10 ish size anyways.  Regardless of which printer you use, or even if you use a service like shapeways or ponoko 3D printing is a great way to get your design ideas out and into the world and getting people thinking of new and exciting things to do with them.  It is certainly the next step in custom manufacturing I think.

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