Hacks – Page 12 – NerdBeach

Fixing the Xbox 360 Red Ring of Death (RRoD)

I have an XBox 360, and it was an original launch model (actually gotten on the day of launch, even). It has worked flawlessly for years, under the most duress conditions, and without even a whimper. Of course, I knew to give it plenty of air space, handle it easily, and treat it like you would any device that costs a sum of money. So it just kept on working.

But recently I went to fire up the XBox and was taken aback by something very unexpected but not unheard of – the terrible Red Ring of Death (RRoD). My XBox was broken, and I needed it fixed. Bummer.

Image courtesy WikiCommons user:Z897623

While I could have sent it in for repairs, which would have cost $100 plus shipping, I opted to go the more adventurous route and fix it myself. I scoured the web for information, and came to the conclusion that the heat sink compound breaks down over years on the XBox's motherboard, and it needs to be redone. Okay, no problem, I've changed out and built up motherboards before. Sounds like I can do this.

During my research I came across some very informative videos on getting the job done. But in my opinion the best video I discovered was by EricTheCarGuy, and I highly suggest checking out his video below if you have Red LEDs shining on your XBox and want to tackle fixing it yourself.

The video does not show the error codes for the XBox, so I include them here for quick reference. As the video illustrates, you get the error code by pressing the sync and eject button at the same time. With the red leds flashing fast, continue to press the buttons and note the lit positions. 1, 2, or 3 leds means 1, 2, or 3, simply enough. All 4 leds gives you a zero. Expect to see a total of 4 digits for the code, and compare below. But in most of the 3 led RRoD instances, you will need to consider the heat sink problem.

0001 power supply problem
0002 power supply problem
0003 (not yet known)
…
0010 over heating
0011 over heating
0012 over heating
0013 over heating
…
0020 (Not yet known, possibly overheating)
0021 (not yet known)
0022 GPU Error / GPU Overheating
…
0101 (not yet known)
0102 unknown error – literally means the console does not know what is wrong. Possibly a short or cold solder joint somewhere (2 reports of people repairing this, one was removing moisture build up inside the console, the other used a hot-air rework to reflow the BGA Ram chips)
…
0110 Memory Error / Memory Overheating
…
1003 Hard Drive Error… It could be a problem with the Hard Drive itself or a problem with the internal connection to the hard drive, Try removing the hard drive and playing without it
…
1010 Hard Drive Error, Can be caused buy a currupt or missing Eprom.
…
1013 (not yet known)
…
1020 (not yet known)
…
1022 AV cable error… There is a problem with the AV cable, try using a different AV cable. (could also be a problem with the encoder chip)
…
1030 (not yet known)

XBox 360

The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles. As of September 30, 2011, 57.6 million Xbox 360 consoles have been sold worldwide.

source:wikipedia

Retro Nixie Tube Clock with High Tech GPS Time Setting

Greg Chaffins

We have discussed those cool retro nixie tube clocks on Nerd Beach before, but here is one with a high tech twist. The nixie tube clock kit incorporates a GPS reciever to keep its time correct. Yes, that is right, a retro nixie tube (IN-14 tubes, to be exact) clock that uses satellites in space to send out a signal in order to keep the time correct. I gotta tell you, I love the mix of the retro and tech in this project.

If you are the project kind and really want to put this one together, you can find it at Etsy. It will set you back about $400 (tubes are not cheap, and it is a limited run kind of thing), but it is a unique project.

(As far as the retro being mixed with high tech, I predict that this type of thing will continue into the future. We will find a strong retro movement, with people foregoing touch screens for the physical feedback. For example, we will have really super smart toggle switches that can select any place in the universe with only a couple of hardy tactile friendly flips. At least that is how it works on the bridge of the original Enterprise… Yes, I am joking for the most part, but I can almost see it happening to some degree.)

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How to make an inexpensive but VERY bright LED flashlight

Greg Chaffins

We all have seen, and maybe even own at least one, LED flashlight. The lights can be quite handy and durable, without the fear that you are going to suddenly have a bulb burn out on. The lights tend to be much more miserly with the power as well, letting the user carry a smaller package for lighting that also has an impressive battery life in the field. As you can see by the list below, LEDs offer many advantages over standard incandescent lighting:

However, one thing that LED lights are not typically known for are their extreme brightness. Typical LED lights run in the 40 lumen range, enough to be of great help in the dark but maybe not in the “comfort” range. But by combining LEDs you can greatly increase their total output, and options are readily available at sellers like Amazon.

Youtube user Jayandersons has his own solution for adding more umph to a LED light. His interesting project takes a $23 SSC-P7 LED unit and hooks it up to a $10 light, making it 20 times brighter and upping the total output to an impressive 900 lumen. This is claimed to be enough to shoot a beam of light over 3 miles, not to mention light up a room quite cozily.

CAUTION: Please note that the info presented herein is for educational purposes only. Improper use can cause injury.

(Thanks to Bill for the Tip)

Texas Instrument sound chip is back from the days of the disco

Greg Chaffins

SN76477N

Early on in my love of electronics I ran across the Texas Instrument SN76477N Complex Sound Generator IC, and it was love at first project. Up to that point my sound effect projects mainly consisted of a simple transistor oscillator with a monostable vibrator ( such as a 555 or 4011 quad nand wired as a pulse generator) triggering a capacitor bleed from the transistor's base. Laugh if you will, but it could generate some cool sound effects.

But then the SN76477N came along. Suddenly I had access to a real sound processor, with an envelope and the works, at my disposal. Man, this was one fun chip to play with. With a few analog parts and some patience one could build a full on synthesizer. The super chip featured a super low-frequency oscillator, voltage-controlled oscillator, noise generator, and a mixer. Sweet!

[T]he SN76477 generates complex audio signal waveforms by combining the outputs of a low frequency oscillator, variable frequency (voltage controlled) oscillator, and noise source, modulating the resulting composite signal with a selected envelope and, finally, adjusting the signal's attack and decay periods. At each stage, the process can be controlled at the programming inputs of the signal modification and generation circuits, using control voltages, logic levels, or different resistor and capacitor values.

– Lou Garner, Solid State, Popular Electronics magazine, October 1978

Even today, with any number of micro controllers at your disposal, one would be hard pressed to duplicate the exact sound the chip provides. Now, you may ask, why am I taking this troll down memory lane? Well, it appears that BG Micro is again offering the chip for sale, and only for a modest $8.99. Given the ease of working with the package and simplicity of construction this would be a great project for anyone interested in electronics. But to show you how easy this chip is to use, below is a typical schematic to have the chip make explosions or gunshot sounds, taken from the application PDF.

So, there you have, a great simple low cost project that can both entertain and possibly bring back memories. What more can you ask for in a quick project? Not bad for a chip that dates back to 1978. We're talking the golden age of disco, baby!

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