When you check out the latest tech news, it’s not hard to come across stories of hacked websites and breaches of passwords. Website administrators constantly encourage users to use complex passwords, but who has the capacity to remember them? Password managers are one solution, but even they have their vulnerabilities.
This is where the AnyKey comes into play. This USB devices acts as an HID keyboard for automatically entering your password. You only need to remember a short word or pin, and the device will do the rest.
Since hackers often use remote dictionary or brute force hacks, this device assigns a randomized password to your account, making it much harder to crack. Since it’s a USB-based device, it’s also not vulnerable to remote hacks like a phone.
The AnyKey comes with a native OS X, Windows, and Linux application which allows you to change the stored password. Once you’ve saved your password, you can use it on any PC without any extra software.
Programmable RGB and RGBW LEDs, such as the very popular WS2812 strip format, have revolutionized the amount of bright light and number of colors that can be easily added to maker projects. Hundreds, even thousands, of these tiny light units can be controlled with a single data line.
As amazing as this is, if you need even more lighting power, the Serial to 8 Channel WS2812 Driver from ElectroMage presents an interesting option. One of these devices can control 180 RGB or 240 RGBW pixels on each of its 8 channels, giving it the ability to control up to 1920 RGB pixels per board. Up to 8 boards can be controlled by one serial connection, giving such a system the ability to control an astounding 15360 pixels from a single serial port.
Perhaps less impressive on the surface, but still important for a well-running system, the device takes care of all WS2812 timing requirements, freeing up your main CPU and interrupts for other tasks. It also features CRC error checking, and shifts 3.3V inputs to 5V for reliable LED performance.
On a related note, if you’d like inspiration for your next massive LED project, why not check out this post about hacked Christmas lighting? It’s never too early to begin preparing for the 2019 holiday season!
The beauty of Badgelife is the sheer variety in both functionality and design when you look at a collection of badges. Some are incredibly complex, while others thrive on their simplicity.
This unbearably cute Alpaca badge falls into the latter category, and it does so with both poise and grace. The only electronic element of the badge is the RGB LED on the tail, but it makes for a perfect addition to any collection.
There are two sewing hooks on the back, along with a safety pin for attaching it to your clothes or bag. Every purchase comes with the pin and a fully assembled PCB. The only thing you’ll need is a CR2032 3V battery to power it.
Among all the badges I’ve seen, an Alpaca is certainly something new, proving that there’s still plenty of life left in the ongoing Badgelife saga.
Blinking lights are a welcome addition to any project, but they also provide a convenient way to track RC cars or drones. One Tindarian decided to create a 1:10 scale police light for this exact purpose.
The lights come with a 3D printed ABS enclosure, which works well outdoors. This type of enclosure also won’t bend or warp when exposed to the elements. You can customize the lights to your liking and glue everything together with acetone when you’re done to make it waterproof.
It may be made of wire and lights, but this tulip blooms like a real flower and glows with life.
Last month, Jiří Praus made a big splash on the freeform-circuitry scene with his Arduinoflake — a snowflake ornament he built from LEDs, brass wire, and an Arduino Nano. Now he’s back with another stunner. This time it’s a freeform circuit tulip sculpture for his wife. Its construction borrows many of the techniques and materials he used in the Arduinoflake, but it’s clear he’s upped his game since then.
While the Arduinoflake was basically flat (as snowflakes are), the tulip comes to vibrant life in three dimensions. The stem stretches upward from a simple wooden base, and a single leaf curls gracefully off to one side, but further up the stem is where the real magic happens. Each of the flower’s six petals is attached to the stem through a tiny hinge constructed from brass tubing and wire. The petals are also each connected to a pushrod running down the center of the stem. A hobby servo hidden in the base provides the motive force for opening and closing the petals.
The brain of this flower is again an Arduino Nano, and its capacitive-touch-sensing abilities allow the flower’s owner to send it blooming with a soft caress. Once awoken from its slumber, the petals gently open, and the flower’s RGB LEDs put on a moody light show.
Praus has said he’s not sure if he’ll be making tulips available for purchase, whipping one of these up for your special someone in time for Valentine’s Day would be a stretch to finish, but the design is gorgeous enough that it would make a wonderful gift any time of the year. He’s said he’ll be releasing documentation on the project, so be sure to follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in making your own.
If you’re not quite that handy with bending wire, but you like his aesthetic, stop by his Tindie store, where you can pick up an Arduinoflake, now in PCB form.
Southern California is not known for its harsh winters. In fact, it’s probably safe to head out in flip flops and a hoodie on any given day all winter long. With that assumption in mind, that’s exactly what I was wearing when I headed south to Orange County for my very first Sparklecon. The weather would soon show my folly, but it wouldn’t dampen the fun awaiting me.
If you’re not familiar with Sparklecon, it’s an annual gathering of hackers, artists, tech aficionados, and everyone in between, for a weekend of talks, demonstrations, workshops, games, and socializing. It’s organized by 23b Shop, a makerspace in Fullerton, and its neighbors, the National Upcycled Computing Collective (NUCC), and the Plasmatorium. With doors wide open at all three shops, musicians and deejays performing, and tents, couches, and a fire pit occupying the road between them, Sparklecon felt like the best nerding-out block-party I’ve ever been to.
Day One: Rain, Wind, and Fire
We don’t get much rain here in Southern California, but the week leading up to Sparklecon was decidedly wet. The weekend, and Sparklecon itself, were no exception.
It didn’t take long for attendees to re-dub the event “Sprinklecon.” Nonetheless, many of the outdoor activities, like car hacking with Will Caruana, went full steam ahead.
Saturday also included tips on how to get unruly 3D printers to behave, a discussion on different ways to publish research, and a workshop on social engineering from an information security perspective.
Meanwhile, an open table that the NUCC folks had named Kevin spontaneously emerged as a hub of hardware hacking. Roger Cheng brought out his KISS Tindie band and supplies for others who wanted to try their hand at freeform wire sculpture. Beau Ambur busied himself building a pair of synth kits he brought back from Germany. And Jaren Havell tinkered on a tiny Tesla coil kit he had picked up after arriving in town.
By the time the evening rolled around, the worst of the rain had passed, and the outdoor party came to life. A game of hammer Jenga was as much fun for the players as it was for the spectators.
For those who were brave enough to climb out of bed in the early morning cold, Day 2 kicked off with breakfast at the Mexican joint down the block. After a relatively late night of partying to finish of day 1, I was not enough of an early riser to get there by 7:45. But I did arrive in time for a fireside chat with Barb on how she’s managed to be one of the most amazingly productive makers around. Her ongoing project, the Dodecahedrum, was a hit with the audience.
The hardware hackers from the day before (myself included) reunited at the table they had claimed inside NUCC. This time, I was prepared, and brought my own stuff to hack on. Jaren took a quick interest in my CRT projects, and it wasn’t long until we had The Matrix running on my little green screen.
Sparklecon was an absolute blast. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet a diverse set of people with an even more diverse set of interests and skills, and it was flat-out fun from beginning to end. I didn’t make it out to last year’s event and now I know I wish I had . Rest assured I’ll be there for Sparklecon next year, rain or shine.
For other perspectives on the weekend, be sure to check out the recap video by Barb:
You can also get a deeper look from Roger Cheng’s blog posts for day one and day two of this excellent conference.
It’s crazy to think that we live in an age where anyone can build their own functional robot. Thanks to platforms like the Raspberry Pi and Arduino, it’s far less difficult than in years past, but it’s by no means easy. For starters, building a Raspberry Pi-based robot typically requires you to buy all the smaller boards and wire them together.
The new Robot Core V1.2 simplifies the entire process by placing everything you need onto a single board. This includes a DC-DC converter, servo and brushed DC motor controls, analog input ports, and even a breakaway prototyping space for your own circuits or add-ons.
It’s compatible with both Raspberry Pi and the Arduino, not to mention a great platform for STEM education. The support documents are also very thorough, even offering guidance on getting started with python.
People often express themselves through their fashion, which in and of itself is a form of art. Since we’ve already established that PCBs can indeed be works of art, it only makes sense to turn them into accessories for the modern maker.
Enter these Lightning Bolt Earrings. The PCB comes in black with blue LEDs across the surface. The CR2032 battery to power them is also included. They feature an on/off switch and they’re even weather protected against rain.
The battery lasts for roughly a week non-stop, so you’ll find that these earrings are both fancy and functional. And hey, those coin cells are included in the order so they’re ready to wear as soon as the package arrives!
Once you get past LED-like power levels on your microcontroller or single-board computer project, you’ll need a more robust way to control things. Transistors and/or mechanical relays can be appropriate in many situations, and while this type of relay is well proven and, they are relatively slow, and eventually wear out.
Solid-state relays, however, isolate two circuits via an LED signal, This means they can switch loads much faster than the mechanical variety, without mechanical movements that wear out over time. They also don’t make any noise like the electromecanical variety, which can be important in some situations.
For an easy way to use 8 of these relays—at the cost of only two of your IO pins—this 8 Channel I2C Solid State Relay Module presents an attractive option. 8 SSRs are lined up on the board, and each can be used to control up to 2A of AC current. LEDs indicate the status of each SSR module, helpful in troubleshooting situations.
Relay output pins, along with an I2C header ( GND, SDA, SCL, and VCC) are broken out with screw terminals. This means that installation can be accomplished without breaking out the soldering iron, perfect for home automation or even industrial automation applications.
Long road trips are inevitable. Most adults can keep themselves busy with portable devices or smartphones, but what about the kids? If you’re looking to unplug on a long car or train ride, you may decide to bring out a board game, but this presents a problem: how are you going to roll dice in a moving vehicle?
Hammes Hacks ran into this problem when their nieces and nephews kept losing their dice beneath the driver’s seat. And so, the Tiny Dice Kit was born. This SMD soldering kit combines an ATTINY 13 using charlieplexing, and 14 LEDs to create the faces of two dice.
While it is not Arduino compatible, the code comes preloaded onto the microcontroller. You can upload code as needed using a Bus Pirate, an AVRisp mk II or something similar. It may not be a problem you have all the time, but I think we can all agree it’s about time dice went digital.
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