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Construct the Control Circuit The control circuit is very simple for this device, the number of diodes that are shown may need to be adjusted. The output from the Drive LED output didn’t go to zero so the diodes are there to drop some of the excess voltage so that the circuit does not turn on until the drive output actually turns on. The 1000 uF cap is there to smooth the flashing drive LED output. Without the cap the circuit would still work but the LEDs and the motor would be pulsed. I tested the circuit concept on a breadboard first to make sure it worked before making a permanent perf board version. The component locations were made to be very compact since there is limited room in the case (if you want everything to remain hidden).
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April 20th, 2009
Hi,
Why are there 3 diodes in series?
Could I just use one?
April 20th, 2009
properly to lower the voltage to the led, in a cheap way.
April 20th, 2009
this looks nice but i hate such things. things with no purpose like spinning those things. if you want to make indicator for reading or righting use led or something
but what would be cooler is to right data on actual video Tape
in old days as i know they were writhing data on thin magnetic Tape so it is possible but it is interesting how much data can be stored on VHS Tape?
sorry for bad english
April 20th, 2009
Hi Jeff,
The three diodes are there to drop the voltage to a point that the transistor is not biased until the thumb drive output is actually on. The thumb drive LED output does not go to 0 when off…
April 20th, 2009
Hi Mikheil,
Actually there are 4 blue LEDs that indicate reading or writing. Spinning the reel is just for fun. But if you are looking for a purpose you sure won’t find that here.
Tape backups are still used today by large organizations for backup purposes. It has been many years since I have worked with backup tapes but I remember that it was possible to backup a full hard drive onto one back then.
I actually wanted to have a loop of actual tape running around the reels but as you can see there really would have been no space to add anything and still keep both reels working.
April 20th, 2009
Then you’d have to rewind your USB drive. Although it’d be cool to have it still work as a video tape.
I was expecting data to be stored on the tape itself using a hacked VCR. That’d be a neat project.
What did you do with the film, anyway?
April 20th, 2009
Hey Voice,
I still have the film in the corner. I will probably keep 50 or so feet and toss the rest. I hate to throw stuff out but I think I sometimes need to let it go.
April 20th, 2009
Very cool, can i use a rewinder on it
April 21st, 2009
cool hack. it would be nifty for one of the wheels to be able to manually rewind and take up the usb cord so it is out of the way during storage. Then i guess you’d need some type of slip ring connection between the usb cable and the storage card leads… hmm. possibly doable w/ parts from one of those retractable phone-line cords. or maybe just run the usb cord through the center of the vcr tape wheel and all axial-twisting be damned.
April 21st, 2009
Hi John,
That is a good idea. In a perfect world it would have been nice to have the cable be hidden also. The simplest solution probably would have been not to use an extension cable at all, or use one that was made only 2 or 3 inches long so that it could be hidden under the flap.
April 21st, 2009
I enjoy this site I really do, but I sort of expected a better hack from its founder…
April 21st, 2009
[...] from Hacked Gadgets has a adroit artefact of repurposing a recording recording tape. This is a enthusiastic project, and he has a pleasant explore setup, too. His video shows what the [...]
April 21st, 2009
This is a fun hack. Some hacks do not require a purpose, so much as you have some useless items what can you do with them. What impressed me was the pic’s and documentation. just awesome!! I hope future content providers get that!! I got a clear idea of what I would need to do to duplicate this hack! That is what keeps me coming back for more.
Thanks Alan Keep up the good work!
Robert
April 21st, 2009
[...] from Hacked Gadgets has a clever way of repurposing a video cassette tape. This is a great project, and he has a nice cave setup, too. His video shows what the project does, [...]
April 21st, 2009
What a clever idea. When I first saw the article headline I thought it was actually saving data on to the VHS tape! Not sure much data that would have been able to save
April 21st, 2009
Quite a few years ago I used a VHS tape to back up my Amiga. It would store about 10 gb in SP mode. (never got to prove that though)
April 21st, 2009
[...] a great little hack by Alan Parekh at Hacked Gadgets. It involves using a USB flash drive and tapping into the LED activity light to add a mechanical [...]
April 21st, 2009
Well, It’s a nice hack. I would like to have the front lid closed completely and have the cable stacked there, there should be enough place for that. And I also have my Amiga tape backup on VHS somewhere in my old home. These days you may use DV cameras as streamer. I’ve made some calculations and it is cheaper and faster to use a TB disks now and plug in them just for backups. Of course as a ghetto (=crisis) solution, VHS streamer could work, if you can manage to get the stream back to PC (on Amiga it was easily done, as it was number one home and multimedia computer of that time, when (IBM) PCs were still with green or amber alphanumerical screens
)
April 21st, 2009
[...] via hackedgadgets This project turns a old VHS Tape into a USB storage drive. It looks like a normal VHS cassette tape except for the USB cable that sticks out of the shell. All of the project guts are hiding in the areas around the clear windows so that when you have a quick look at the front of the tape all seems normal. When plugged into a computer the VHS Tape Storage Drive will act as a normal USB drive except when the drive is accessed the tape reel will turn and the windows will light up. This will keep at least one of my VHS tapes out of the landfill. [...]
April 21st, 2009
Hi Checkerbarn and Sanctus,
I never had the pleasure of having an Amiga growing up (I did drool over them though). How fast were those units at backing up on VHS? I had a audio cassette drive for my Timex Sinclare 1000 and Commodore 64. All I can say about those was they were slowwwwwwww.
April 21st, 2009
I have to agree a retractable cable would be nice. What would make this thing really amazing is if it could play/fast-forward/rewind depending on its activity, or even semi-randomly when accessed just to give the effect. That would make me want to build one.
April 22nd, 2009
[...] a head-scratch inducing addition to your desktop PC setup - an old VHS tape modded to act as a USB flash drive, complete with LED light and spinning reels. I don’t have the skills for this, but if I [...]
April 22nd, 2009
[...] Cool Mods - The VHS USB Drive Posted 22 Apr. 2009 in Gadgets, Mods by Fatgadget Who said USB tapes were dead? The guys over at Hacked Gadgets have come up with the ultimate solution to recycle all your old VHS tapes and turn them into this cool VHS USB Drive. [...]
April 22nd, 2009
[...] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments [...]
April 22nd, 2009
[...] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments ENGADGET [...]
April 22nd, 2009
Alan, it was the Video Backup System (VBS) on the Amiga. You can read about it at http://www.hugolyppens.com/VBS.html or http://www.lysator.liu.se/amiga/al/guide/al104/vbs30.HTML, you can also find some pictures at http://www.amiga-hardware.com
April 22nd, 2009
[...] Engadget, Hacked Gadgets [...]
April 22nd, 2009
[...] appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Apr 2009 11:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email [...]
April 22nd, 2009
[...] appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Apr 2009 11:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email [...]
April 22nd, 2009
[...] appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Apr 2009 11:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments Tags: Gadget [...]
April 22nd, 2009
[...] appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Apr 2009 11:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email [...]
April 22nd, 2009
[...] appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Apr 2009 11:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email [...]
April 22nd, 2009
[...] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments [...]
April 22nd, 2009
[...] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments [...]
April 22nd, 2009
[...] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments [...]
April 22nd, 2009
[...] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments [...]
April 22nd, 2009
[...] appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Apr 2009 11:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email [...]
April 22nd, 2009
[...] appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Apr 2009 11:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email [...]
April 22nd, 2009
[...] Don’t bother asking questions, just admit to yourself that you really might want one (if not several) of these. Using very few materials, you can make yourself a USB storage device which looks just like a VHS tape with a giant wire sticking out of it! It’s not a terribly complicated affair — connecting the USB cable to a thumb drive inside the tape, some simple circuit board wiring — and presto! If you’re willing to spend three or four hours and around $10-15 a pop, you could finally make use of your lonely, disused 227 collection. Check out an informative, educational video of the process after the break. Source [...]
April 22nd, 2009
[...] appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Apr 2009 11:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email [...]
April 22nd, 2009
[...] Read a2a_linkname=”VHS casette hacked into USB drive? Yes, please”;a2a_linkurl=”http://www.frenzytech.info/2009/04/22/vhs-casette-hacked-into-usb-drive-yes-please/”; This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009 at 4:02 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. [...]
April 22nd, 2009
Have to love a hack that works in any language.
http://www.journaldugeek.com/2009/04/22/une-nouvelle-vie-pour-vos-vhs/
April 22nd, 2009
[...] appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Apr 2009 11:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email [...]
April 22nd, 2009
[...] [via Hackedgadgets] [...]
April 22nd, 2009
[...] [Hackedgadgets] Share: [...]
April 22nd, 2009
[...] el vídeo a continuación.Continue reading Cinta VHS convertida en retro-memoria USBRead | Permalink | Email [...]
April 22nd, 2009
[...] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments [...]
April 22nd, 2009
[...] el vídeo a continuación.Continue reading Cinta VHS convertida en retro-memoria USBRead | Permalink | Email [...]
April 22nd, 2009
[...] el vídeo a continuación.Continue reading Cinta VHS convertida en retro-memoria USBRead | Permalink | Email [...]
April 22nd, 2009
[...] el vídeo a continuación.Continue reading Cinta VHS convertida en retro-memoria USBRead | Permalink | Email [...]
April 22nd, 2009
[...] du site Hackedgadgets est un bidouilleur fou. Il nous montre sa dernière invention. Il en avait assez de voir toutes ses [...]
April 23rd, 2009
[...] [via Hackedgadgets] [...]
April 23rd, 2009
[...] du site Hackedgadgets est un bidouilleur fou. Il nous montre sa dernière invention. Il en avait assez de voir toutes ses [...]
April 23rd, 2009
[...] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments [...]
April 23rd, 2009
[...] VHS Tape Storage Drive es un simpatico proyecto para crear un pendrive con cable USB a partir de una cinta VHS, puedes [...]
April 23rd, 2009
[...] proyecto VHS Tape Storage Drive une una memoria USB con una cinta VHS para crear un retrocacharro medio moderno bastante poco [...]
April 23rd, 2009
[...] proyecto VHS Tape Storage Drive une una memoria USB con una cinta VHS para crear un retrocacharro medio moderno bastante poco [...]
April 23rd, 2009
[...] proyecto VHS Tape Storage Drive une una memoria USB con una cinta VHS para crear un retrocacharro medio moderno bastante poco [...]
April 23rd, 2009
[...] Quelle Bookmark bei: [...]
April 23rd, 2009
[...] VHS Tape Storage Drive - Hacked Gadgets - DIY Tech Blog [...]
April 23rd, 2009
[...] mod signé Alan Parekh est une cassette VHS transformée en clé [...]
April 24th, 2009
[...] je potrebno imati podosta dobre volje. Cijeli proces nastanka USB VHS flash diska pročitajte na ovoj adresi. croportal_url = [...]
April 24th, 2009
[...] VHS Tape Storage Drive es un simpatico proyecto para crear un pendrive con cable USB a partir de una cinta VHS, puedes [...]
April 25th, 2009
[...] VHS Tape Storage Drive es un simpático proyecto para crear un pendrive con cable USB a partir de una cinta VHS, puedes [...]
April 27th, 2009
[...] Hacked Gadgets VN:F [1.2.0_562]please wait…Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast) Share [...]
May 6th, 2009
[...] Who said USB tapes were dead? The guys over at Hacked Gadgets have come up with the ultimate solution to recycle all your old VHS tapes and turn them into this cool VHS USB Drive. [...]
May 7th, 2009
Does anyone have info on retrieving recorded over video on vhs?
May 11th, 2009
[...] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments Share New Gadgets [...]
May 15th, 2009
[...] VHS USB Drive Posted by April 27, 2009 gtvt_posts[3557] = {url: “http%3A%2F%2Fwww.e-smartech.com%2Fvhs-usb-drive.php”, title: “VHS%20USB%20Drive”, category: “New%20Gadgets”, desc: “%3Cp%3EWho%20said%20USB%20tapes%20were%20dead%3F%20The%20guys%20over%20at%20Hacked%20Gadgets%20have%20come%20up%20with%20the%20ultimate%20solution%20to%20recycle%20all%20your%20old%20VHS%20tapes%20and%20turn%20them%20into%20this%20cool%20%3Ca%20href%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fhackedgadgets.com%2F2009%2F04%2F20%2Fvhs-tape-storage-drive%2F2%2F%22%3EVHS%20USB%20Drive%3C%2Fa%3E.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThis%20fun%20USB%20drive%20uses%2C%20and%20old%20VHS%20tape%2C%20a%20USB%20drive%2C%20some%20LEDs%2C%20a%20recycled%20DC%20motor%20and%20a%20small%20petf%20board%2C%20the%20total%20cost%20to%20make%20one%20is%20about%20%2415.00%2C%20check%20out%20the%20video%20of%20it%20in%20action%20below.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cimg%20src%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.geeky-gadgets.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2009%2F04%2Fvhs-usb-drive.jpg%22%20alt%3D%22VHS%20USB%20Drive%22%20width%3D%22550%22%20height%3D%22450%22%20%2F%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EVery%20cool%21%2C%20if%20you%20want%20to%20make%20your%20own%20head%20on%20over%20to%20%3Ca%20href%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fhackedgadgets.com%2F2009%2F04%2F20%2Fvhs-tape-storage-drive%2F2%2F%22%3EHacked%20Gadgets%3C%2Fa%3E%20for%20full%20instructions.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThis%20is%20a%20Syndicated%20post%20from%20%3Ca%20href%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.geeky-gadgets.com%22%3EGeeky%20Gadgets%3C%2Fa%3E.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPost%20from%20%3Ca%20href%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gadgettastic.com%22%3Ehttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.gadgettastic.com%3C%2Fa%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Ca%20href%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gadgettastic.com%2F2009%2F04%2F27%2Fvhs-usb-drive%2F%22%3EVHS%20USB%20Drive%3C%2Fa%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%0A%3Cp%3E%3Ca%20href%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Ffeedads.googleadservices.com%2F%7Ea%2FzUGABhuh7xkrvbivc2IUnP9cIRU%2Fa%22%3E%3Cimg%20src%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Ffeedads.googleadservices.com%2F%7Ea%2FzUGABhuh7xkrvbivc2IUnP9cIRU%2Fi%22%20border%3D%220%22%3E%3C%2Fimg%3E%3C%2Fa%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cimg%20src%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds2.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2Fgadgettastic%2F%7E4%2FWTCeL7Ejg-w%22%20height%3D%221%22%3E”}; Who said USB tapes were dead? The guys over at Hacked Gadgets have come up with the ultimate solution to recycle all your old VHS tapes and turn them into this cool VHS USB Drive. [...]
June 3rd, 2009
[...] VHS Tape Storage Drive [...]
July 22nd, 2009
[...] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments [...]
October 28th, 2009
Really Cool - like these old car radio adapter for portable CD-Players