Dissecting the Xbox Part III

There is not much to say about this stage of the dissection that the pictures below cannot tell us, other than the two main objectives: 1. Successfully extract the laser diode. 2. Successfully take apart the hard drive.

This is where we get into some of the much more fun stuff, as you are finally taking apart the most delicate and valueable parts. From my experience, the more fancy and expensive the object you are taking apart, the better. This is what I discovered:

The hard drive is what I had read about: It was a large mirror-like disk complete with a reader.

This post will cover the disk reader anatomy and the overview. The next two post will dive into the laser diode extraction and the hard drive.

Guest Posting

After exploring several other blogs, I thought it would be great to work out a guest posting system, where anyone can add a scientific/ educational post. Of course, all posts will first be reviewed by myself.

You may e-mail me your project, experiment, etc. as an attachment or directly pasted onto an e-mail. Send it to me at brennonw at gmail.com (written as such to defend against the evils of spam bots).

I encourage that you add your credentials (optional, none needed). Of course, your name is mandatory, and please keep in mind that all submissions may be edited. When writing, please remember that your targeted audience is all ages. You may be of any age to submit. How-to formats will be the most useful. Submissions may be of any length (within limits), though I recommend about 1 page.

Html/ Java code may NOT be added for any purposes unless your tutorial is on how to program in html or Java.

Examples, Robots, computers, or other mechanical or electrical devices that you have built, chemistry projects (safety 1st), programs that you have written in any programming language (C#, C++, BASIC, etc.), and so on.

Please, only submit projects that you yourself have done.

I look forward to reading and adding your submissions.

Thank you.

Hang on!

Hmmmmm. I ordered a card reader a couple weeks ago so I could process my images. It, to my suprise, still has not arrived.

Please sit tight for a couple of days. I wanted to give an update an let you all know that I have not forgotten about BW Science Labs, though I have little content to bring.

Thank you for understanding,


Brennon

Dissecting the Xbox Part II

I've spent the past few days taking apart the Xbox. I managed to extract the laser diode module and I even took apart the hard drive. I documented it thoroughly with my camera, however I've been having trouble putting the images onto my computer, so I ordered a card reader from the web. It should arrive in a few days, when it does, I will upload the photos and give a full- report.

I regret not being able to give a more rich post, but at this point, my dwindling time is essential.

Brennon

Building the OAR

Those of you who know me know that I've built a few robots, all with very limited success. Now, I will try t follow a tutorial for once. Letsmakerobots.com has a great beginners' robot, so I'll be following that. Unfortunately, the parts list is from UK suppliers, so I spent a few hours tracking down the same parts, in U.S. sites.

Here's what I came up with:

Spark Fun
1x PICAXE Kit http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=8353
2x Jumper Wires http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=8430
1x Heat Shrink - Black 5' x 1/4" http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=8830

Mouser Electronics
1x 330 ohm resistor http://www.mouser.com/Search/ProductDetail.aspx?qs=Q3j9DDvm8Sy1Fxr2jBbc1Q%3d%3d

Solarbotics
1x Servo http://www.solarbotics.com/products/servo/
2x GM Series Plastic Wheels http://www.solarbotics.com/products/gmpw/
1x L293D Motor Driver http://www.solarbotics.com/products/l293d/

Hobby Engineering
1x Sharp GP2D120 IR Sensor - 11.5" / Analog http://www.hobbyengineering.com/H1060.html
1x Cable for Sharp 3-Pin IR Sensors http://www.hobbyengineering.com/H1182.html
2x Gear Motor 9: Right Angle Shaft http://www.hobbyengineering.com/H1415.html

Our friend Google, Thank you all, Coming soon

Over a week ago, I googled "BW Science Labs". I sorted through hundreds of sites, I couldn't find it. Two or three days ago I searched again, I found it at 25 out of 990,000. Not bad. Today, I looked again... Ranked NUMBER 1!



In the span of a week, BW Science Labs has surpassed hundreds of thousands of other sites. I'm hoping that this growth will continue, until we reach the top of the "science Labs" search. You can help make this possible by:

1. Put a link from your site to bwsciencelabs.com

2. Spreading the word, and telling your friends about BW Science Labs.

3. Visiting regularly and contributing with comments, responses, etc.

Thank you, all my reader for your support, and I hope to continue BW Science Labs for years to come.

Yours Truly,


Brennon W.


Coming soon:

An O.A.R (find out what this means) robot that you can build. A multi-Part Series.

A security robot made from a Roomba vacuum cleaner. A multi-Part series.

Hacking the Xbox, Continued. A multi Part series.

(in any order)

Dissecting the Xbox

A couple months ago, I won an old Xbox in a raffle (no, not a Xbox 360). I'm not much of a video game player, so I decided to take it apart. I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

The Xbox is is full of countless goodies just waiting to be extracted for use. Unfortunately, there is more to its armor than meets the eye.



For weeks I tried to break it open without damaging any components using household tools. Eventually, I had to come to terms with the fact that it would be impossible to open (without damage) using only your average toolbox. Of course, back then I didn't wield the Ultimate Tool: The Dremel.



Newly armed with a "power drill on steroids" and a plethora of add-ons I could now sand, drill, sharpen, and best of all: cut. I have an assortment of approximately 200 little tools to put at the end of my dremel. The most useful turned out to be the small but powerful diamond cutter, which I bought separately.

First, I gently pulled out the CD holder, which will someday make a beautiful robot chassis. You can already see two grooves at the back, perfect size for a set of geared motors.



Using my probe-like LED light, I peered into where the disc holder used to be. I was delighted to find that the laser diode was safe and comfortable, awaiting its inevitable extraction. Along with the diode, there are a few small motors used to move the laser module around.



So, I embarked on my quest of surgery, one step at a time.



The bottom left corner was giving me a lot of trouble, so I investigated to find the flaw in my plan. As it turns out, you cannot cut around the sides of an Xbox and lift it off like a can of tuna. There are about eight or so thick pegs connecting the roof with the rest of the body. Undoubtedly an attempt at thwarting hackers.



(Above) You can clearly see the holes in the plastic where a peg used to be, before I had to cut it out.

I managed to cut open the front portion just enough for me to peer through. I could then locate the peges, and mark their location. I would cut a bok around them, and then cut out a second box next to it. After the second box had been removed, I placed the blade into the gap and moved it toward the peg until I could slice it in half.

It was a very slow and extremely painful process (my back). Bit by bit, I carefully took off the top covering.



When I finished, I found this intact piece of sheet metal that could be useful for making bars to hold motors, housing mirocontrollers, etc.

When I finally finished I was left with this:



Now what?

Find out in Part II