BuffaloFeeds » Hack A Day » March 16, 2010

Hack A Day (7 unread)

Adding an automotive cold air intake

Posted: March 16th, 2010, 4:06pm MDT by Mike Szczys

[Thomas] and a buddy were sucking down a few brews when they decided to hack their 2001 Chevy Cavalier for a bit better performance. If they could find a way to bring cooler air to the engine they speculated that they’d see an increase in efficiency. Instead of routing the air intake to a hood [...]
Electric-assist bicycle uses LiFePO4 batteries

Posted: March 16th, 2010, 3:05pm MDT by Mike Szczys

This bicycle add-on uses an electric motor to help you out. This way the motor takes advantage of the gearing normally available to the cyclist. What interests us most about the system is the DIY battery work they’re doing. The cells are using Lithium Iron Phosphate technology. The li-ion cells you’re used to seeing in [...]
Pure TTL based clock

Posted: March 16th, 2010, 2:00pm MDT by Jakob Griffith

We’ll just say, [Kenneth] really likes clocks. His most recent is a pure 7400 series TTL based one, ie no microcontroller as seen in the past, here, here, and here. The signal starts out as a typical 32,768 crystal divided down to the necessary 1Hz, which is then divided again appropriately to provide hours and [...]
Xbox 360 Laptop more laptop-y than ever

Posted: March 16th, 2010, 1:03pm MDT by Mike Szczys

[TheTwoJ] and his friend built a laptop-form-factor Xbox 360. Their extensively documented process was inspired by [Ben Heckendorn's] work. The result is a brick when folded up but a good-looking (albeit loud with 8 fans) gaming rig. There’s everything you would expect; LCD screen, integrated WiFi, camera, optical drive, and a full keyboard. These poor [...]
Tax-exempt Geek Group hit with huge tax bill

Posted: March 16th, 2010, 12:02pm MDT by Mike Szczys

Non-profit hackerspace The Geek Group has been hit with a hefty tax bill despite their tax-exempt status. We featured a boom camera built by the organization back in November. It is the goal of The Geek Group to fulfill the thirst to explore and create by providing facilities, peer group, and camaraderie that make knowledge [...]
Follow-up: Hacking OnStar

Posted: March 16th, 2010, 9:07am MDT by James Munns

Reader [regulatre] has provided us with his furthering of hacking the OnStar system in GM cars. Previously, we wrote about some initial attempts to gain access to the system that OnStar uses to monitor and control cars called GMLAN. [regulatre] has managed to create an adapter between the GMLAN connector and a standard OBD2 plug, which [...]
Keep tabs on your car without OBD-II

Posted: March 16th, 2010, 8:06am MDT by Jakob Griffith

[Steve] let us know about his MultiDisplay car monitoring system. Unlike traditional systems that rely on interfacing with the OBD-II protocol and existing car computer, the MultiDisplay uses an Arduino and custom shield with a combination of sensors; including temperatures, pressures, throttle, Boost, and etc. The data collected can then be displayed on a 20×4 [...]