Hardware hacking
Mini projects on various hardware devices I have (like gameboys, raspberry pi’s and routers)
Hardware hacking
Ring Light
I got a little ring light for my setup so I can get a better lighting for a few videos I have coming up. it was very inexpensive, is powered by USB, and works very well!
Android
Cubot Note 20
Olivia cracked the screen on my Umidigi :( so I had to get a replacement – I got this (very cheap) cubot phone from amazon – honestly it’s fantastic!
Hardware hacking
Philips curved 32 inch wqhd screen
I was looking for a new screen since the beginning of lockdown, and finally decided to buy this – a 32 inch curved wqhd widescreen – it does 2560×1440, so has the same res as the other screen we have, plus it’s curved! Display port and HDMI means I can Read more…
Hardware hacking
Philips B2G81U valve radio
Nice little retro radio (after re-seating the loose valves and sorting the plug it works fine :) https://www.vintage-radio.com/recent-repairs/philips-b2g81u.html
Hardware hacking
Simrex X300 mini drone
I got a little drone for my birthday – the x300c from simrex, it’s got a great set of features – watch out for some more posts (it’s far from a pro drone, but will be great fun)
Android
Huawei P30 lite
It’s time for a new phone again, and I decided to get a little Huawei phone this time. So far it’s a great wee phone. Does everything my old umidigi one max did, except wireless charging (which I never used anyway) It even runs kali nethunter :)
Hardware hacking
GPO 8746 Rotary phone
It (unexpectedly) works, first time, no messing! More info here: https://www.britishtelephones.com/t746.htm Dialing a mobile from it is a pain though!
Android
Kali linux nethunter on unrooted android – rootless nethunter!
I recently saw this tweet from kali linux https://twitter.com/kalilinux/status/1209615382224547840?s=19 on installing rootless nethunter on an unrooted android device. This is my attempt to do so. The tweet linked here: https://www.kali.org/docs/nethunter/nethunter-rootless/ The instructions are pretty easy to follow Install the NetHunter-Store app from https://store.nethunter.com I had to enable install from this source Read more…
Hardware hacking
Generic Bluetooth Speaker
This time its a generic non-branded chinese bluetooth speaker. I got this one from amazon, for less than £10. Its fabric covered so looks good, and is very loud. It plays audio recordings when you pair and un pair (its a bit chinglish, but is a nice touch) it also Read more…
Hardware hacking
Gearbest Chinese Earpods
Ive been spurned by expensive headphones in the past, but still burn through them. This time I decided to get some cheap ($10) bluetooth earpod style headphones from China. They are pretty good. Bass isnt great (they were ten bucks after all) I wouldnt use them for mastering, but they Read more…
Hardware hacking
Google Assistant WiFi LED lights
I ordered a set of cheap WiFi enabled LED light strips from Amazon. They are perfect – they stick to the back of the TV (or anything really) and the colour can be set using google assistant (or alexa) They arrived in a nice box, setup was pretty easy – Read more…
Hardware hacking
Raspberry Pi hacking
This tutorial will show you how to make a Raspberry Pi hack tool by installing Kali on the Raspberry Pi – by the end of this guide you will have a Kali Raspberry Pi hacking tool with lots of tools ready for use! Install Kali on the Raspberry Pi Following Read more…
Android
Umidigi One Max
I finally swapped my iPhone for an android phone. I’ve been an iPhone user since the iPhone 3gs, right through till the 6plus. I was spoiled a little in the last 3 years as I didn’t change my phone (it shows how good the 6plus is) and I didn’t need Read more…
Hardware hacking
Google Home Coffee Machine
We recently got a ‘smarter coffee’ coffee machine – it has wifi, an app, and also an ifttt integration. We also have a google home in the office – that makes the perfect pairing for some automated coffee making! The setup was quite easy – after the coffee machine was Read more…
Hardware hacking
iPhone battery replacement
My iPhone 6 plus was going slow, so I got a battery from ebay and followed the ifixit iPhone battery replacement tutorial – my phone is now much faster (it feels like a new phone again) starting – all my tools ready screen open screen detatched battery removed new battery Read more…
Android
Google home and chromecast
After playing with my google home mini for a few days I decided I needed a chromecast (I have appletv, roku boxes, and an old android tv box, but none work woth the google home. nice box. the chromecast. setup on the tv (complete with ice-lolly splashes from olivia) the Read more…
Hardware hacking
Google home mini
We just got some awesome prizes sent from google (we are a google partner and made enough points being awesome for our clients to get some google home minis) Stay tuned for a ton of google home hacks!
Hardware hacking
Replace iphone home button
Replace iphone home button: The home button on my iphone 6 plus stopped working, so I had to fit a new one. Unfortunately touchId won’t work any more but at least I’ll be able to open up my phone and see inside and also get a working button! I ordered Read more…
Hardware hacking
How to remove the harddrive from a 2014 mac mini and install an ssd
At work we had a mac mini 2014 that needed an ssd harddrive upgrade. This post has a short video and some info on the process documenting how to remove the harddrive from a 2014 mac mini and install an ssd. You will need a few tools: guitar plectrum (to Read more…
Hardware hacking
Modified gba with backlit screen mod
I made another modified gba with backlit screen mod – this time the modified gameboy advance with a backlight was a present for my brothers birthday. I ordered the original gameboy advance, a new case, transparent buttons and a new backlit screen and an adaptor ribbon for the screen from Read more…
Hardware hacking
Blackarch on the chuwi hi10pro – install and config
Blackarch on the chuwi hi10pro – prereq’s a usb hub a usb flashdrive a usb mouse a usb wifi adaptor (at least for the initial setup) Download blackarch from https://blackarch.org/downloads.html write to a usb drive (I used Etcher to do this part) Plug into chuwi and boot – Press F7 Read more…
Android
How to root android on a chuwi hi10 Pro
How to root android on a chuwi hi10 Pro First, you need to enable developer mode How to root android on a chuwi hi10 Pro: Enable Developer Mode start android, goto settings > about tablet > click on “build number” 10 times Then you need to allow oem unlocking settings Read more…
Android
Factory restore android on chuwi hi10
This is a short post on how to factory restore android on chuwi hi10 1) Download and install intel phoneflashtool https://01.org/android-ia/downloads/intel-platform-flash-tool-lite 2) Download the version of android you need from here: http://forum.chuwi.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=2341&extra=page%3D1%26filter%3Dtypeid%26typeid%3D25 The password is en.chuwi.com 3) Connect your chuwi to your mac with a usbC cable 4) Turn your Read more…
Hardware hacking
Uwell Rafale
The TDP regulations have came in to force, so there was a last minute flash sale on pretty much every UK vape site :) I managed to get a uwell rafale tank for a really good price from dnavapes
Hardware hacking
Ubuntu on the chuwi hi10 pro
After trying Kali on the hi10 pro (its totally not ready for the bay-trail / cherry-trail platforms) I decided to give ubuntu on the chuwi hi10 pro a go (after hearing good things about their support) This is a short tutorial on dual booting ubuntu linux and windows10 on the Read more…
Hardware hacking
Kali on the Chuwi Hi10 Pro – updated for Kali 2020
This post is now updated with install information for using 2020 versions of Kali on the Chuwi Hi10 Pro. When I first wrote this post I seriously wouldn’t have recommended Kali on the Chuwi Hi10 Pro as an every-day system – Starting with 2018.01 and the 4.14 kernel it makes Read more…
Android
Chuwi Hi10 Pro ultrabook tablet convertable surface
Chuwi Hi10 Pro ultrabook tablet convertable surface – That’s some title, but I’m not sure how to describe my new machine. Its a tablet, but its also a laptop – it has a real keyboard and works exactly like a laptop, except you can remove the screen! It was a Read more…
Commandline
Dd-wrt web ui crashes
I have a router running dd-wrt. sometimes the dd-wrt web ui crashes and you cant access the interface, but your WAN connection works, and you can still login via ssh On the dd-wrt command-line there are a couple of utilities available to let you start and stop services. If your Read more…
Hardware hacking
GBA gameboy backlight screen mod
I finally got my backlit screens delivered from China (took 7 weeks) and ordered some ribbon adaptors (again from gooeysstore on ebay uk) I used the instructions in this github gist. I have the 40pin motherboard, but didnt know which screen type I had (figured out it was the type Read more…
Hardware hacking
Playing with the bbc microbit
playing with the bbc microbit and the microsoft touch-develop editor
Hardware hacking
Gameboy Pocket Backlight Mod
I ordered a gameboy pocket backlight mod from the internets (ebay). I went for a white backlight and used the instruction video from “this does not compute” on ebay to guide me through. It was fairly easy to install (though I did break my screen at one point and I Read more…
Hardware hacking
Gameboy Advance custom buttons mod
When I ordered transparent buttons for my Gameboy Pocket, I alos picked up a set of transparent buttons for my Gameboy Advance. The set of buttons included shoulder buttons (L+R) A button, B button, D-pad, power switch and the side rail button things too! this set was perfect for my Read more…
Hardware hacking
Gameboy Pocket Custom buttons mod
I ordered some transparent buttons for my Gameboy Pocket so that I could do my Gameboy Pocket Custom buttons mod. This post shows how to replace the buttons in your Gameboy Pocket and shows off my mod :) Before the button mod – my Gameboy Pocket and my Gameboy advance Read more…
Hardware hacking
Gameboy Pocket case mod
Gameboy Pocket case mod I got a gameboy pocket to go with my gameboy advance (again from ebay). I had already decided to match the case and buttons to the gameboy advance. I ordered a glass screen, gameboy pocket transparent dark blue case and a set of button pads from Read more…
Hardware hacking
Gameboy Advance Case Shell Change Mod
Gameboy Advance case shell change I got a gameboy advance from ebay a few days ago – I didnt own one when they first came out, I did own an original gameboy dmg-001 and a gameboy colour when they came out (they are probably still in my mum’s loft) and Read more…
Hardware hacking
BBC Micro:bit
My brother got me a BBC micro:bit for my birthday. I decided to have a play around with it to see what it can do – its a pretty good ecosystem – you can edit code in python, load it to the device using bluetooth from your mobile and its Read more…