Hardware Hacking Projects for Geeks

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Chapter 10, How to Build an Internet Toaster

Project Demo

After assembling the toaster and connecting the TCU, it’s time to make some

computer-controlled toast! Plug in the TCU and connect it to the toaster via

the external three-pin connector. Place a slice of bread into the hacked toaster

slot, select the desired toasting pattern either via the buttons on the front of

the TCU or via the PC serial port, and press down the toast lever. Voilà!

This version of the hacked toaster can toast the word “hot” or “cool” on one

side of a piece of bread. Figure 10-21 shows both selections.

Extensions

The TCU relies upon a PC to act. You can just as easily use a SitePlayer

(or other embedded web server), as I will use to hack the coffeemaker in

Chapter 15. This allows you to control the toaster directly from a web

browser instead of having the PC as a proxy.

If you want to toast larger patterns on the bread, you can install a relay that

switches the nichrome wires so that either the front or the back is toasted

instead of just the top or bottom of one side of the bread. With the addi-

tional relay, you could control toasting of both sides independently.

You could also add a high-temperature sensor inside the toaster to deter-

mine the temperature during the toasting cycle.

Figure 10-21: Automated toast

Extensions

ch10_toaster.indd 207

1/13/2002 2:45:03 PM