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Machine Learning to Eat Free

This hack is brilliant:
In today’s digital age, a large Instagram audience is considered a valuable currency. I had also heard through the grapevine that I could monetize a large following — or in my desired case — use it to have my meals paid for. So I did just that.

I created an Instagram page that showcased pictures of New York City’s skylines, iconic spots, elegant skyscrapers — you name it. The page has amassed a following of over 25,000 users in the NYC area and it’s still rapidly growing.

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Rigol Oscilloscope i2c Bus Decoding

I built a weather station last year. Even though I sprayed a conformal coating on the PCB to help it resist humidity exposure, the temp/humidity/barometric pressure sensor flaked out from exposure to the elements.  While fixing it, I decided to “geek out” a bit and hook the oscilloscope up to decode the i2c bus messages.  My notes for reference.

High Level:

  1. Connect probes, make sure they are setup correctly (10:1, etc.). Then set vertical scale and time-base.
  2. Set the triggering conditions to match the signal encoding
  3. Set the decode conditions to match the signal encoding
  4. Optional – use the event table to capture and export the data

Connections
Channel 1 probe to SCL (Clock)
Channel 2 probe to SDA (Data)

Scope Config
Set to 2v/div, 100us
Trigger – i2c, SCL->Channel 1, SDA->Channel 2, When->Start, Sweep->Auto
Decode – i2c, BusStatus->On, SCLK->Channel 1, SDA->Channel 2, SCL Threshold->1.80v, SDAThreshold->1.80v, Format->Hex (whatever is appropriate)

Enable the event table if you want to capture data which allows you to also export the data to a usb drive.

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BMW S1000R Motorcycle CANBUS Hacking

My BMW S1000R motorcycle is my favorite bike so far. I like everything about it except the headlights – when I turn on the high beams, both bulbs stay on, then after a few seconds the low beam turns off.  Arg!!!! I want as much light as possible.

I have a factory service manual (FSM), but the FSM doesn’t have any wiring diagrams or technical information about the CANBUS.  I’m going to have to hack it and I’ll show the steps I used to figure out the wiring.  However this comes with a disclaimer – use this at your own risk. Messing around with your CANBUS can be life-threatening and could cost you a lot of $$$ if you break a controller. Continue reading “BMW S1000R Motorcycle CANBUS Hacking”