Rolo’s electronics projects has an interesting technique for Desoldering an SMD IC with a Candle. This is not the correct way to remove this type of chip, use some hot air instead. He didn’t have any of the proper tools at hand and needed to get his Siteplayer up and running.  A trip to the local computer shop scored him some over priced antique computer cards which had the surface mounted chip that he suspected he needed. The defective chip on the Siteplayer was removed one pin at a time with a soldering iron so that the board would not get damaged but this bends every pin of the chip being removed. Since the donor computer cards were only being used for the single chip a non-standard candle method was used to remove the chip, I am surprised at how well it worked!

Once the newly harvested chip was installed the unit worked! This is hack that MacGyver would be proud of.

Ray Ho and Ayo Ositelu from Cornell University came up with an inexpensive (around $25) way to do eye tracking. They’re using an IR LED and an IR transistor to get the job done. They note that the best way to perform eye tracking is to use a camera and process the image but this would require more processing power than they had. We have seen eye tracking done before here and here but this is the first time I have seen it done on the cheap like this. Great job guys!

“The outcomes expected from this project rely on the wonderful properties of light. Specifically, we note that incoming light rays hitting an object will either be reflected or absorbed. The degree to which reflection and/or absorbance takes place depends on material properties of the object. We expect a higher signal stemming from light directed to the pupil as compared to light directed toward the sclera. Nearly all the light directed toward the entrance pupil is absorbed. The white color of the eye reflects a majority of the light rays directed towards it. The ratio of light rays absorbed to reflected when directed to the iris depends on the eye color, with those eye colors darker in tone pigmentation yielding the higher signals.”

How far can an R/C car jump? Watch the video to see the Guiness Book World Record R/C Car Long Jump that The Gadget Show performed.

It’s just a matter of time before you spill some liquid into your computer keyboard or it naturally gets full of dust and dirt. When this happens keys can stick or may become intermittent. Keyboards are priced to be disposable but that doesn’t mean you should just toss it and buy a new one. Chances are you can take it apart and clean it out. The process should take about 1/2 an hour and will keep your keyboard out of the landfill.

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Fellow Canadian Rick Crammond demonstrates how effective shielding is using a fun demonstration. Have you ever stripped some shielded cable and found the foil wrapped around the wires or looked in some electronic gear and seen some some copper paint on the inside of the cover and wondered how effective it is? Well this demonstration shows you that a bit of thin metal can really do some amazing shielding.

Have a look at the Dune Bug E project. Looks like the warm weather kicked the build into high gear! You know you are dealing with some serious power when you need to cut your cables with bolt cutters and solder on lugs with a blow torch.

“At this point the Dune Bug-E is up & running, and has had 8 or 9 test drivers without any issues ie; intermittent power of general failure while driving.
The Home Brew High Current switch was one area that I’d had concerns about but they proved needless.
The slip differential in the rear-end will be welded or fixed to approximate a Posi-track or solid rear drive, as there is no flex in the frame or swing-arm, so one of the rear wheels is prone to getting hung-up spinning in the air…”

The prize this week is one of my Electronic Component Coaster Sets, these make a great addition to any coffee table. This contest will run for one week (May 8- 14, 2010) . Ending time is based on central standard time. To enter, identify the item pictured above and give an example of what can be done with it.

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 the message body consisting of:

• The name of the item in the above picture
• An example of what the item pictured above can be used for

The winner will be chosen at random from all of the correct entries.

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Added May 22, 2010

The item to guess was a ION Cube

The winner is Michael A. (there were 10 entries, this was a hard one!!)

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Below are some pictures of the prize.

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