Hack Job

Filed under: newsMIT researchers have used a viral assembly method to create a battery at half the size of a human cell. They've successfully developed the anode and electrolyte, leaving only the cathode unfinished. each electrode is only 4 micrometers in diameter.The construction process involves taking a rubbery base and creating a pattern of tiny posts through lithography. Then they add different layers of polymers that act as an electrolyte. Finally the virus preferentially self-assembles on top of the polymer creating the anode. Pictured above is a test plate. The battery itself is too small to be seen.

Filed under: laptops hacks[The Tech Guy] shows us how he added cells to an MSI Wind's battery. This hack is extremely simple but it may be difficult to get the battery back into your laptop. Also, we're not too sure how stable it is, and you can definitely forget about taking this thing through an airport. It would be really nice to start seeing people fabricate custom enclosures. Until then, this hack is best reserved for people completely desperate for extended battery life.

Filed under: cellphones hacksGizmodo has posted a guide for extending the battery life of your shiny new iPhone 3G. Apple is notorious for pushing products with unimpressive battery life, and the new iPhone is no different. The battery isn't user-replaceable, which means you can't keep a spare, and the energy needs of the 3G chipset adds to the problem. Apple provides some useful tips on maximizing battery life for your iPhone. The tips include common sense advice that applies to nearly all electronic devices - turning down the brightness on your LCD screen, turning off radios not in use like Bluetooth, WiFi, GPS, and 3G, and setting Auto-lock to a minute or less will keep your devices running smoothly for longer.

Filed under: misc hacks

Filed under: transportation hacks[Ben Nelson] didn't even know how to ride a motorcycle when he started on this electric conversion of a 1981 Kawasaki KZ440. The engine wasn't a loss since the bike was nonrunning when he purchased it for $100. The permanent magnet Etek motor was $500 and each of the four yellow top batteries were $160 (only three pictured). He says that the majority of the conversion work only took two weekends. The resulting, still street legal, ride averages 20 miles per charge with a 45mph top speed.

Filed under: gps hacks, dailyArtist [Erik Nordenankar] has created the Biggest Drawing In The World. At least that's what his URL says. He used the movement of a GPS device to create a giant single line self portrait on the globe. His Pelican case containing four large batteries and the GPS data logger was handed off DHL with very specific travel instructions for its 55 day journey. It's a pretty amazing feat, but we really wish the case had managed to make the trip without the close watch shown in the video.

Filed under: transportation hacksAdding extra battery capacity to hybrids is becoming pretty common, but this one is better than the average lead acid trunk fest. The pack was built from three prius NiMH packs picked up from salvage yards. These batteries can't simply be bolted together, but with some research and effort you can save some nickel from the junk yards and cut your fuel bill.Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: misc hacks, robots hacks[gim] gutted some li-ion laptop batteries to replace his roomba's battery pack. He had to pick up a li-ion charger and add a protection circuit to deal with the li-ion cells, but ended up with a new lighter pack for his roomba. If you head this way, the protection circuit is a vital component to prevent fires/explisions/etc. Looks like a great resource for robot power or even R/C projects.Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

"This was my first pack. It was made with D cells running at 4500mah. I used an RC car charger, which would get me to full charger in about 3 hours. I kept the pack in a $3 game boy case. The pack held a lot of power, but was way too bulky. [...]

So, We Begin...

I'm not going to get into too many details here."

http://www.tekprosystems.com/zaurus/batterypack.htm

"This hack uses a handful of nearly free parts from your local Radio Shack. With this hack, you'll be able to tap the 5V needed to recharge the Zaurus from your computer's keyboard connector, and still use the keyboard for your PC. It uses a giveaway barcode scanner called a CueCat. Radio Shack was giving these things out for free for a while, but due to marketing problems with it, the stores were ordered to destroy them, so ACT FAST!!!"

http://www.zymurgy.net/zaurus.html