Hardware Hacking Projects for Geeks

86

Part I: Basic Hacks, Tools, and Techniques

The empty flash board is a little bigger than a penny. You can see a picture

of the board without the flash part in Figure 5-34.

Place the board in the slot flash label facing outward. Flux the edge and

solder it in place. Installed, it will look like Figure 5-35.

Test this board by loading the post_final.asm file. You will need to first

assemble it and then download the resulting post_final.hex file with termi-

nal program (9600bps, 8n1, flow control off) attached. After downloading

this code and starting the PC terminal software, it should say whether or

not the serial flash is readable and writeable.

7. Reassemble the Furby

To reassemble your Furby, hold the left side of the shell in place and mark

the location of the jack with the printer’s knife. Take the shell off and drill

a hole at the mark you just made. Place the half shell back on and adjust

the size of the hole so that the plug fits. Your Furby will look like himself

again (see Figure 5-36).

Software Setup Instructions

You will now need software tools for programming your new Furby.

Furby has been upgraded to use the venerable 8051 processor, which has

been around since 1980 and has the widest range of variants of any embed-

ded controller on the market. Freely downloadable software tools abound

for the 8051. It has a small package, modest power requirements ...