January 2013

How to Reflow a Macbook Pro GPU

  Dane from Transistor Man had a Macbook Pro with a GPU that wasn’t working. The system would boot but the display output was dead. Similar to the  Xbox 360 BGA  problems there are some Macbook Pro computers that have experienced BGA solder issues. The big issue here is that BGA devices have the solder connections under the device itself. Dane used a heat gun and a variac to blow

Name the Thing Contest – 216

  The prize this week is a breadboard power supply. This contest will run for one week (January 6 2013 – January 11, 2013). Ending time is based on central standard time. To enter, identify the item above and what it can be used for. Please do not give the answer in the comments. Send an email to contest @ hackedgadgets.com with “Name the Thing Contest” as the subject, and

DIY Stun Baton

     If you follow the instructions on this site you will end up with a Stun Baton which takes a 4 volt battery and converts it to 10,000 volts of sparking fun. Of course be very careful if you decide to take on this project since the voltages created can do some serious harm. Thanks for the tip Isaac R. “The Royer Oscillator magically turns the ~13 volts at

DIY Internet Sump Pump Monitor

  Matt Meerian from Home Brew Electronics has an issue with his basement waterproofing tar seeping into his sum pump pit. As you can imagine cold tar seeping into the pit would cause havoc with the pump and water level detection. He has designed a DIY Internet Sump Pump Monitor to alert him if there is a problem such as the pump running too long or the water level getting

Cheap DIY Van de Graaff Generator Project

  Growing up I remember having fun with an old Van de Graaff Generator that lived in a friends basement (his dad was a high school science teacher). Dmitriy sent in his DIY Van de Graaff Generator Project that he just completed using some things around the house. The inspiration was from a popular M&M’S holiday ornament tin that can be found these days (probably on the clearance shelf today).  Project details.

Garage Scanning Electron Microscope

  What would you find in the garage of Jeri Ellsworth? Many people would guess a car, but you would be wrong, these days you will find her latest project which is assembling a Scanning Electron Microscope. Even if this system arrived fully functioning it sure doesn’t sound like a project that would be easy to succeed with. Jeri mentions that simply forgetting to close a valve and opening the