Electrical hacking (was Re: [Techtalk] [OT] charging USB device without a PC)

[Robyn Manning]

Hi

I can totally relate to what you are saying, but for me it's as a
computer tech who knows her way around electronics.

Using a couple of circuits found on the net and some nouse I rewired the
output of a Sun 17" Workstation monitor to work on a normal svga video
card. This works in graphics as well as text (the solution from Sun only
works in graphics). My boss worked out the physical mods needed and we
have working monitors. The physical mods are to cut the cable off, bring
it inside the monitor, attach 5 bnc sockets to the case and use a 5bnc
to 15pin vga cable. These all fit nicely between the power plug and the
digital testing point thingy.

> Maria
> 
> Who does this for fun, and profit[4] :)
> 
> 
> [0] Without killing yourself or your family.
> [1] Likely to be successful.
> [2] It's an isolating transformer, to isolate the socket from you in an
> electrical sense, it makes the power coming out of the socket on
> the two pins relative to each other instead of to ground, this means that
> it's safe to connect one pin from the socket to ground through yourself,
> and not get hurt.  Of course you'll still get a jolt if you connect
> yourself between the two pins, but this is covered by the Being Bloody
> Stupid Act. :)
> [3] Common Sense, which is sadly rather uncommon, it would seem, and also
> relies in this case in the knowledge of [2].  The trick is to not connect
> anything on the bathroom side of the transformer with or to anything on
> the mains side of the transformer
> [4] I've worked as a sparky in a theatre, as local crew, assistant, and
> occasional sound engineer in various venues, and as an engineer in a TV
> station, and started off fixing things for my parents as a way of getting
> more pocket money.  How many teenagers do you know who got more pocket
> money for cleaning the VCR? :)
> 
We didn't have a VCR but I cleaned tape decks etc and Mum and I repacked
the bearings on the record player and it worked.

Robyn