Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange
Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [hacking]

Questions about retrofitting or modifying an electrical component or device to achieve new functionality/feature or eliminate an undesired one.

99 questions
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Can I (ab)use a transistor as an ESD protection diode?

The MIDI specification suggests a fast switching diode to protect the optocoupler's LED against ESD that could exceed its reverse voltage: But this is the only diode used; I could simplify the BOM if I could replace it with some component already…
CL.
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Disabling DisplayPort hot plug detect

I have a PC with a DisplayPort monitor. When the monitor sleeps or is powered off, the OS loses track of the current display resolution. My research indicates this is probably due to the Hot Plug Detect (HPD) pin being brought low when the monitor…
Ouroborus
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9
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Hacking a cheap DC-DC buck converter module (LM2596 chip) into a CC LED driver

On the Internet you can find plenty of dirty cheap DC-DC buck converter modules like the following: which is based on an LM2596-ADJ SMPS IC and follows the schematic in the application notes of the manufacturer: On the other hand, switching…
LorenzoDonati4Ukraine-OnStrike
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Hack for fitting 0.04" leads in to a 0.025" hole on PCB

This might be a ridiculous question to ask - but I have made a mistake in a new library I created in Eagle for a component. The drill diameter of the plated holes for the component leads should have been 0.04" but I missed the fact that the default…
NK2020
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STM32L MCU - SWD pin on board not matching processor pinout

I was doing my hardware hack project on an air quality monitoring device which uses STM32L476 processor. My only experiences with hardware hacking are IPcams or wifi routers with UART consoles available. But, after some probing and trying, I was…
Jimmy.D
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Hacking a treadmill with Arduino?

I'd like to write a desktop app that would be able to automatically read all measurements off my treadmill, and to fully control the treadmill instead of the native dashboard. Unfortunately I know next to nothing about electrical engineering, and I…
user6236
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2 answers

How to power a scanner light with adapter, not battery?

Sorry for the noobish question. I'm a computer scientist, so my electrical engineering knowledge is of the "don't put fingers in electrical outlet" level. I'd like to know how to power a salvaged scanner light of the type Scanner Light Hack v2.0…
vega
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5
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Safety when using ATX power supply as benchtop supply

I found many pages where people convert an ATX power supply to a benchtop power supply to give 12, 5, 3.3V. However the current output can be very high (several amps). When using this and you NEED high current, that is great. However, when using…
dnh37
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1 answer

Why are some AVRs marked with 'atmega' and some marked with 'mega'?

I'm working on hacking the MCU in my MLP4DSM radio for an RC helicopter. The model number on the MCU is scratched out, but I can clearly read MEGA without an AT at the beginning. Google is letting me down. However, I can find AVRs marked either way…
OhmArchitect
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atmega32u4 vs atmega328

How am I limited (or not limited) by using ATMega32u4 instead of ATMega328 with my Arduino? I want my sketch to perform a simple "echo" of a code it receives, does ATMega32u4 allow me to do this?
Jordan Sheffield
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Hacking Dell charger to run directly from an external 19.5V power source

I needed to power my Dell laptop without having 220V (because my inverter is burnt in the middle of nowhere) in my van. By using a boost converter that can deliver the required power, I simply set the output voltage to 19.5V and used a spare cable…
ceremcem
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4
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1 answer

How a modchip overrides specific signals?

I read an article on the original PSX copy-protection scheme lately, and how the modchips of that era were implemented using PIC MCUs. Then this question popped up, and I haven't been able to find a satisfying answer on the net or between…
Manos
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3
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4 answers

Combination of four half-bridge load cells

I have a kitchen weight scale containing four half-bridge load cells, each cell associated to one foot of the scale. I want to hack it to use it as a pressure sensor and link it to an Arduino microcontroller. With resistance measurement, I have…
nesdnuma
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How to hack to limit output power of a regular SMPS?

I need to charge my 60 Ah LiFePO4 battery with a small charger as fast as possible at 14.4V. There are lots of relatively cheap SMPS in the market which are not designed for this purpose (they are constant voltage supplies with overcurrent…
ceremcem
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3
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What is the easiest (least complicated) way to emulate a "short" button press that pulls a pin low?

I'm trying out the IP5306 (The datasheet is in Chinese, I used the "document" feature of Google Translate to translate it). Here is my schematic: The IP5306 is a cheap boost chip that is normally used for charging mobile phones. Its typical…
Payton Grenich
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