Hardware Hacking Projects for Geeks

2

Part I: Basic Hacks, Tools, and Techniques

A Tour of My Toolbox

“Voiding the warranty” on any product occurs when you open up a piece

of equipment and rummage around to see what new features you can add.

More often than not, to hack any given electronic equipment, you will need

to construct circuits and/or solder on connectors. All of these activities

require some basic tools and knowledge of a few techniques.

Here’s what I keep in my toolbox so that whenever I get a hankering to

hack, I am ready to go:

Basic soldering equipment. I like to have both a small 12-watt iron for

soldering surface mount parts, and a larger 75-watt iron for soldering

large connectors. You will also need solder, solder flux, and either a

solder sucker or a solder wick. Most of the projects in this book involve

soldering, which I’ll review later in this chapter.

Basic hand tools. I like to have a set of fine-tipped wire cutters for trimming

wires and cutting off the leads of components after they are soldered.

A good set of wire strippers also allows you to prepare wires for solder-

ing. A set of needlenose pliers makes it easy to bend component leads

to fit in tight spaces. A set of tweezers can help you pick up tiny parts

and hold them in place while soldering. I keep a set of jeweler’s screw-

drivers along with a set of normal drivers to open up enclosures and ...