
The Hardware Hacker: Bunnie Huang's Tour-De-force - DemiGuru
https://boingboing.net/2016/12/30/the-hardware-hacker-bunnie-hu.html
======
zcarter
Prominently featured in a recent documentary on manufacturing in Shenzhen.
Recommended: [http://www.wired.co.uk/video/shenzhen-full-
documentary](http://www.wired.co.uk/video/shenzhen-full-documentary)

~~~
reubenmorais
I second the recommendation. The documentary talks in detail about the
differing views on intellectual property between Western countries and China
that is mentioned in the article.

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eltoozero
Bunnie is also responsible in no minor way for both Chumby[1], and the
Novena[2] open laptop.

Met him briefly at Maker Faire and I made sure to thank him for all his
excellent work.

[1]:
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chumby](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chumby)
[2]: [https://www.crowdsupply.com/sutajio-
kosagi/novena](https://www.crowdsupply.com/sutajio-kosagi/novena)

~~~
andrewguenther
I really loved the idea of Chumby. Would have killed it if it had come out
more recently as an IoT device.

~~~
mwcampbell
I didn't know about the Chumby at the time; I only read about it after the
fact. But with the benefit of hindsight, I can think of one detail in the
execution that probably didn't help the product's longevity. In 2009, at
around the time that the iPhone 3GS and newer Android phones were using
ARMv7-based processors and 256 MB of RAM, the Chumby One used an ARMv5-based
chip (the i.MX233) that could only handle 64 MB of RAM. [1] Not exactly a
forward-looking move. But I don't know if Bunnie could have done it
differently. Was there any ARMv7 or even ARMv6-based chip available to startup
companies at that time with the i.MX233's high analog integration and low
cost?

[1]:
[https://www.bunniestudios.com/blog/?p=611](https://www.bunniestudios.com/blog/?p=611)

~~~
Sanddancer
Not really. That little chip is /still/ about the fastest chip you're gonna
get for any sort of hardware hacking project for which you want a display, and
the ability to prototype using one of the super cheap pcb makers.

~~~
mwcampbell
Really? Can you explain more about why the i.MX233 has those unique benefits?
Might it be better to use something like the CHIP
([https://getchip.com/](https://getchip.com/)), based on an Allwinner R8,
instead? Yes, the CHIP is itself a PCB, but it's so small and has enough pin
headers that I guess you could treat it as a system-on-module and solder it to
a carrier board.

Starting a new project with an ARMv5-based processor today seems really stupid
to me, even more so than in 2009. But maybe I'm just hyper-sensitive about
obsolete hardware because a community that I care about has been burned in
that area before. I'm talking about PDAs designed specifically for blind
people. I explained more about that in a mailing list posting here:

[https://www.mail-archive.com/arm-
netbook@lists.phcomp.co.uk/...](https://www.mail-archive.com/arm-
netbook@lists.phcomp.co.uk/msg01176.html)

~~~
Sanddancer
The big advantage comes from its packaging and everything built into the chip.
It comes in a 144 pin lqfp package, which means that routing pins can be done
by a couple people with real minimal amounts of training, and it can be laid
out onto a two-layer board, which tends to be a lot cheaper than a four layer
board which a bga package pretty much requires. It's also got a dac and adc
built in which has the circuitry to directly drive headphones, so you don't
need amplification circuitry to do that. Similarly, it's got integrated power
regulation, so you don't need those chips either. Finally, all the info on it
is available in a datasheet you don't need to jump through hoops to read [1].
It's not as fast as a chip, but because of everything it has, it's much more
flexible for when you are designing something.

[1] [http://www.nxp.com/assets/documents/data/en/reference-
manual...](http://www.nxp.com/assets/documents/data/en/reference-
manuals/IMX23RM.pdf)

~~~
makomk
The Allwinner R8 is available in eLQFP176 and also has a built in audio DAC,
ADC and headphone amp. Of course, it requires external memory and all the
routing headaches that go along with that, but so does the i.MX233. Power
management is generally done by a companion chip from X-Powers, the AXP209.

~~~
mwcampbell
If the CHIP from Next Thing Co. is any indication of the capabilities of the
R8, the built-in audio DAC and headphone amplifier are somewhat lacking in
low-end frequency response (i.e. bass) compared to what one can get in a PC,
smartphone, or any other consumer-level audio player. Indeed, NTC told me on
an email support thread that for their upcoming product, the Dashbot, they're
using a dedicated DAC to get better audio.

I'm tempted to buy one of Olimex's i.MX233 boards to find out if the audio
capabilities of that chip are better. But as I said, starting any new project
today with an ARMv5-based processor just seems wrong. Technology moves on,
even in applications that don't require a screen. I doubt that an ARMv5-based
processor could run a modern speech recognition engine, even if only to listen
to a wake word for something like the Alexa Voice Service or the Dashbot.

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jaymcnuggets
Excited to give this a read - he's also got a good reference book for non-
native Mandarin speakers on navigating the Shenzhen markets[1]

Just bought mine from the publisher as an ebook + hardcover package for about
$10 more than Amazon price for just the book, includes early access with code
EARLYBIRD:
[https://www.nostarch.com/hardwarehacker](https://www.nostarch.com/hardwarehacker)

[1]
[https://www.adafruit.com/product/3189](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3189)

~~~
danial
I bought a copy too. I was a little disappointed that the early access ebook
has the last few chapters missing.

[https://www.dropbox.com/s/cjoxjb1pk1lmo5b/Hardware%20hacking...](https://www.dropbox.com/s/cjoxjb1pk1lmo5b/Hardware%20hacking%20early%20access%20PDF.png)

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beh
If you haven't had the chance to read one of Bunnie's hardware teardowns,
you're missing out. His teardown of the Form 2 3D printer
([https://www.bunniestudios.com/blog/?p=4641](https://www.bunniestudios.com/blog/?p=4641))
is a great example of his work.

~~~
Animats
That's a nice description of the Form 2 3D printer. You don't see that grade
of engineering from most startups. That Formlabs makes their own mirror
galvanometers is impressive, but probably necessary. The off the shelf units
are either low-precision ones for light shows, or small-volume scientific
instrument components.

~~~
joatmon-snoo
Can confirm the necessity, having interned there. COTS galvos at that price
weren't good enough.

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j_s
Non-affiliate link to the pre-order for Bunnie's new book:
[https://amzn.com/dp/159327758X](https://amzn.com/dp/159327758X)

OP is ~450 word announcment summarizing each half of the new book - if you're
interested (hardware manufactring and hacking), you'll already know it and can
skip the ads.

~~~
endgame
It's published by nostarch, so if you get it from them directly you can get a
DRM-free ebook:
[https://www.nostarch.com/hardwarehacker](https://www.nostarch.com/hardwarehacker)

~~~
toomuchtodo
There is also a coupon code on that page to get 30% off. Total cost for the
ebook and the dead tree copy is $20 + shipping. A steal for Bunnie's usual
high quality work!

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deutronium
There's a table of contents of the book at:
[https://www.nostarch.com/hardwarehacker](https://www.nostarch.com/hardwarehacker)

I'm really looking forward to getting my copy :)

~~~
j_s
Thanks for linking to a place that actually has the (early access) e-book
available _right now_ rather than _real soon now_.

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anjneymidha
In addition to this and the Wired doc, I'd recommend the keyboard.io blog post
from October for those who haven't been to Shenzhen yet, but are in the
'deciding' stage: [https://shift.newco.co/what-50-buys-you-at-huaqiangbei-
the-w...](https://shift.newco.co/what-50-buys-you-at-huaqiangbei-the-worlds-
most-fascinating-electronics-market-f0384d9fca32#.vsst8sjtu)

~~~
tjmaglio
and to these, I would add a talk that he gave at FOSS Asia earlier this year
about a hardware devicde made for Burning Man:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNtQsyysaGk&t=5s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNtQsyysaGk&t=5s)

The amount of thought put into the design and implementation is remarkable and
inspiring.

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kasbah
I believe this book is a print edition of a selection of blog posts that have
appeared on [http://www.bunniestudios.com/](http://www.bunniestudios.com/).

~~~
billpollock
It's based on bunnie's blog but one of our editors poured her heart and soul
into this. She's a EE with incredible passion. In other words, this isn't just
a print out of his blog. It's a real book.

~~~
kasbah
Thanks, good to know.

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agumonkey
His SoC ISA reverse engineering through FPGA MitM made me smile a lot.

