Team Hack-a-Day » Electronics

Repair Your Xbox 360 DVD Drive

DrNathan — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 15:06:53 +0000

DrNathan demonstrates how a couple of dollars and a few minutes can turn your broken Xbox 360 DVD drive into a fully functioning unit again by tackling a common point of failure – the drive belt that runs the tray mechanism.

MyVu Personal Video Viewer Hacked to Allow Input From Any Video Device

DrNathan — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 15:03:32 +0000

For those of you unfamiliar with the MyVu Personal Video Device, it resembles a set of sunglasses with video screens and a pair of headphones built in. It’s a great little product, but forum member RetroPlayer did not like the fact that his MyVu was tethered only to his iPod. He decided he wanted to liberate the mini-theater to allow it the ability to connect to any video player with a standard CINCH/AV output, aka an “RCA Output”.

He poked around for a bit, then finally ended up calling MyVu in order to try talking to an engineer. Surprisingly, he was put through to one, and the engineer was quite accommodating. He gave RetroPlayer a ton of information, which helped him overcome some issues he was having.

The hack works well, but isn’t quite complete yet. RetroPlayer has posted schematics and all the details of his project, but has stated that he will continue working on it, taking it from the breadboard to an actual adapter.

4th of July Special – Set off Fireworks Using an Arduino!

DrNathan — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 19:17:03 +0000

In an attempt to ensure that all of his digits survive the 4th of July, forum member morehpperliter has devised a simple but elegant replacement to the time-honored tradition of “light the fuse and run like hell!” Using an Arduino and a bit of code know-how, you too can keep yourself out of the emergency room this 4th of July. Or you can continue shooting Roman Candles at your friends and hoping for the best…whichever works for you.

Always on USB Charging Port for Your PC

DrNathan — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:25:53 +0000

Forum member Cerberus posted a tutorial on how to rig up an always-on USB charging port for your PC using a spare USB port, a resistor, and a few pieces of wire.

It requires a small bit of soldering know-how, but anyone who has used an iron at least one time can pull this off. It is a great option for someone looking to reduce clutter while saving energy, since it enables and USB device to charge while your PC is turned off without the need for yet another wall wart.

Akimbo Hacks Part 2: VGA Port Installation

DrNathan — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 19:33:08 +0000

Forum member Cerberus continues to hack away at his Akimbo IP1150, and this time he has added a VGA port to the box.

I can’t wait to see what the final product will look like when he is finished modding it.

RCA Akimbo Serial Port Hack

DrNathan — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 20:26:53 +0000

Forum member Cerberus has a walkthrough on his web site demonstrating how you can add a serial port to an RCA Akimbo IP TV/PVR box, enabling you to gain console access to the machine. It is a pretty easy hack, but really its the first step in hacking these things for personal use.

Not familiar with the Akimbo? That’s ok, Cerberus has a nice introduction and specification post for you as well.